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ft  £3 


BALDWIN,      A.    S. 

CLIMATOLOGY  OF  FLOR- 

& 
CODRINGTOM,  C. 

;;       OF  FLf 


GIFT   OF 


^ 


CLIMATOLOGY  OF  FLORIDA, 


A  i  I(ED     HKFOHK 


THE  MEDICAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  THE  STATE  OK  FLORIDA,  AT  THEIR 

ANNUAL  MEETING,  HELD  IN  THE  CITY  OF  JACKSONVILLE, 

ON  THE  IfTH  AND  18TII  OF  FEHRUAKY,  1875, 

BY  A.   S.   BALDWIN,  M.D.,  PRESIDENT. 


A      ECTURE  ON 


THE  RESOURCES  OF  FLORIDA, 

BY    C.    CODRINGTON,    ESQ., 

Editor  of  "The  Florida  Agriculturist." 


PRINTED  AT  THK  OFFICE  Cf*1  "THE  FLORIDA  AGRICULTURIST.'1 

1875. 


YEAR. 


EIGHT  PAGES. 


THE  FLORIDA  AGRICULTURIST  is  the  only  agricultural  paper  iu  the  State,  and  the 
best  in  the  South.     If  you  wish  to  get  reliable  information  about  Florida,  its  climate. 
soil,  and  capacity;  accurate  details  as  to  the  cultivation  of  the  Orange  and  Tropical 
Fruits,  and  the  profits  to  be  derived  therefrom,  subscribe  to  THE  FLORIDA  AGKH  i  : 
TURIST,  an  8-page  weekly  paper,  32  broad  columns. 

Opinions   of  the   Press. 


THE  FLORIDA  AGRICULTURIST  comes  to  us  regu- 
larly, and  is  full  of  useful  hints  as  well  as  personal 
experience  in  the  culture  of  Florida's  fruits  and 
vegetables.  It  fills  a  void  long  felt  in  Florida  jour- 
nalism, is  well  worthy  of  support,  and  will  become 
almost  a  necessity  to  the  fruit-grower  in  our  State. 
— Apcdacliicola  Times. 

It  is  a  capital  paper,  and  every  farmer  or  planter 
who  invests  in  the  amount  of  subscription  will  have 
his  money  back  live,  ten,  and  a  hundredfold.  In 
fact,  no  man  or  woman  who  lives  by  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil  can  study  his  own  interest  and  not  be- 
come a  subscriber. — St.  Augustine  Press. 

The  Monticello  Constitution  of  February  25,  1875, 


says  :  "  THE  FLORIDA  AGRICULTURIST  is  the  only 
journal  devoted  exclusively  to  the  interest  of  agri- 
culturists, that  is  puolished  in  this  State,  and  it 
should  receive  a  generous  support.  The  proceed- 
ings of  the  recent  Fruit-Growers'  Association  are  now 
being  published  in  its  columns,  which  is  of  interest 
not  only  to  planters,  but  to  every  man  who  has  a 
permanent  interest  iu  the  State.  The  typoprapny 
of  the  AGRICULTURIST  is  elegant,  and  it  is  edited 
with  marked  ability." 

THE  FLORIDA  AGRICULTURIST,  published  in  Jack 
souville,  Florida,  is  destined  to  rank  with  the  best. 
It  has  improved  from  the  start,  and  will  no  doubt 
meet  with  a  liberal  support.—  Palatka  Htralrl. 


The  following  resolution  was  adopted  at  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  Nassau  county  (Fla.)  Agricultural 
Society : 

"  Resolved,  That,  recognizing,  as  we  do,  the  im- 
portance of  having  a  live  public  journal  devoted  to 
the  agricultural  interests  of  our  State,  we  cheerfully 
endorse  THE  FLORIDA  AGRICULTURIST,  published  at 
Jacksonville,  and  earnestly  recommend  not  only  the 
members  of  our  own  but  other  societies  and  all  oth- 
ers interested  in  the  welfare  of  Florida,  to  subscribe 
for  and  thus  help  to  maintain  a  journal  which  is 
doing  so  much  to  develop  our  resources." 

A  subscriber,  writing  from  Duval  county,  Fla.. 
says:  "I  must  acknowledge  the  immense  value  of 
your  paper  to  me  and  all  new-comers,  as  a  guide 
and  instructor.  Any  one  number  is  worth  a  year's 
price.  Your  recipe  for  bots  in  horses  is  just  the 
thing.  I  had  occasion  to  use  it  last  week,  and  saved 
a  valuable  horse.  Nothing  can  be  better  than  your 
instructions  for  monthly  planting.  As  we  have  no. 
experience  with  this  climate,  we  must  learn  from 
those  who  have  had  it,  and  not  many  can  afford  to 
lose  one  or  two  years  experimenting.  Too  many 
have  already  done  so,  and  now  they  are  gone  away 
crying  down  our  State,  simply  because  they  would 
not 'take,  or  could  not  get,  proper  advice. 

Address, 
^..•iid  ten  cents  for  a  specimen  copy. 


"To  parties  in   the  oranire  culture  your  paper 
>  must  be  doubled  in  value.    The  plain  statement  of 
facts  and  experience  from  such  able  correspondents 
as  your  Mr.  Fowler,  Dr.  Mason,  and  others,  togetli. 
er  with  the  work  of  M.  Galleslo,  furnishes  valuable 
information  to   be  gotten  nowhere  e          i  would 
mention  many  other  merits,  but  any  o 
any  single  number  of  THE  AGKICULTU      T  wUltte 
for  themselves." 

Another,  writing  from  Manclicstei 
"I  am  so  well  pleased  with  THE  I 
TURIST,  although  only  in  it*  Sf'ft" 

heartil v  wish  tliat  every  lover  of  Florida  and  to 
1  charming  climate  mi^ht  r«.d  it,  «nd  bam.  ,t  a^ 
•irron--  their  friends  nt  the    North,   that  the\  Dl;, 
on,,  iui.il  "•       ,     f  ]?iow.er8.'     Your  puix-r  i . 


•  ftatc-    -j          H   tin-  vears   before  it  could  conn 
SKi     PP"'- .     I  trn*t  your  people  arc  ^ 
.  n  01 ,eer  utfriciilturHl  weekly.     1  am  enjfa^ 
acolbny  for  Florida,  and  intend.to  rn 
/t  lo'-iition  durinsr  the  coming  sinnm' 


THE  CLIMATOLOGY  OF  FLORIDA. 


Gentlemen  of  the  Medical  Association  of  the  State 

of  Florida  : 

As  many  friends,  for  whom  I  entertain  a  high 
regard,  have  solicited  it,  and  with  whose  wishes 
I  am  disposed  to  comply,  I  have  chosen  Clima- 
tology, or  rather  the  Meteorology  of  Florida,  as 
the  subject  of  an  address  which  this  Association 
requires  annually  from  its  President. 

While  sensibly  conscious  of  my  inability  to  do 
full  justice  to  so  important  a  subject,  I  am  still 
willing  to  make  a*ny  contribution  in  my  power 
towards  the  elucidation  of  it,  and  the  establish- 
ment of  a  better  knowledge  of  our  climate 
among  the  profession  and  others  interested 
abroad,  and  among  whom,  after  so  much  has 
been  written  and  disseminated,  a  great  variety 
of  opinions  seems  still  to  exist,  even  while  our 
neighbors  of  the  North  and  West,  in  consider- 
able and  constantly  increasing  numbers,  are 
making  our  State  a  winter  resort,  and,  in  many 
instances,  a  permanent  abode.  And  why  is 
there  such  a  want  of  correct  information  in  re- 
gard to  Florida,  her  topography  and  resources, 
her  soil  and  productions,  and  of  the  true  charac- 
ter of  her  climate,  as  it  affects  mankind,  resid- 
ing summer  and  winter,  and  year  after  year, 
within  her  borders?  Hitherto  scores  of  invalid 
visitors  have  kept  partial  meteorological  records 
during  their  winter  sojourn  here,  and  have  been 
sending  them  to  their  respective  homes  for  pub- 
lication, accompanied  by  such  comments  and 
impressions  as  their  state  of  health  and  feelings 
might  at  the  time  dictate.  Sometimes  favorable 
impressions  were  conveyed,  and  sometimes  the 
reverse,  and  these  conflicting  reports  seem  to 
have  produced  upon  the  minds  of  medical  men, 
as  well  as  of  others,  an  impression  that  our  cli- 
mate was  fickle,  and  as  variable  as  were  the  re- 
ports concerning  it.  Hence,  it  is  important  that 
whatever  of  reliable  meteorological  data  we  may 
possess,  should  be  collected  and  subjected  to  an 
analysis,  and  put  into  a  shape  that  shall  impart 
the  requisite  information,  and  correct  the  false 
impressions  which  seem  to  have  been  made  from 
unreliable  reports  based  on  very  imperfect  data. 
In  an  endeavor  to  accomplish  this,  I  have  been 
able  to  obtain  numerous  records  of  meteorolog- 
ical observations  made  at  various  stations  in 
East  and  South  Florida,  but  one  from  the  Mid- 
dle, and  from  but  two  in  West  Florida.  These, 
added  to  my  own  observations  for  the  past  thirty- 
six  years,  comprise  the  material  from  which  I 
propose  to  work  out  the  problem  imposed  upon 
me  as  my  task  on  this  occasion. 

We  will  first  determine  what  is  meant  by  the 
term  climate.          •     • " 


According  to  Humboldt :  "  The  term  climate, 
taken  in  its  more  general  sense,  indicates  all  the 
changes  in  the  atmosphere  which  sensibly  affect 
our  organs,  as  temperature,  humidity,  variations 
in  barometrical  pressure,  the  calm  state  of  the 
atmosphere,  or  the  action  of  opposite  winds, 
the  amount  of  electrical  tension,  the  purity  of 
the  atmosphere,  and  its  admixture  with  more  or 
less  noxious  gaseous  exhalations,  and,  finally, 
the  degree  of  ordinary  transparency  and  clear- 
ness of  the  sky,  which  is  not  only  important, 
with  respect  to  the  increased  radiation  from  the 
earth,  the  organic  development  of  plants,  and  the 
ripening  of  fruits,  but  also  with  reference  to  its 
influence  on  the  feelings  and  mental  condition 
of  men." 

"Reclus"  gives  the  following  as  his  defini- 
tion :  "  All  the  facts  of  physical  geography,  the 
relief  of  continents  and  of  islands,  height  and 
direction  of  the  system  of  mountains,  the  extent 
of  forests,  savannas  and  cultivated  lands,  the 
width  of  valleys,  the  abundance  of  rivers,  the 
outline  of  the  coasts,  the  marine  currents  and 
winds,  and  all  the  meteoric  phenomena  of  the 
atmosphere,  vapors,  fogs,  clouds,  rains,  light- 
ning, and  thunders,  magnetic  currents,  or  as  Hip- 
pocrates said,  more  briefly,  '  The  places,  the  wa- 
ters, and  tlie  airs,'  constitute,  in  connection  with 
latitude  and  longitude,  what  is  called  a  climate." 
These  definitions  are  sufficiently  comprehensive 
to  cover  the  entire  subject,  and  they  give  a  full 
enumeration  of  the  different  factors  or  ele- 
ments of  climate.  The  first,  in  Humboldt's 
enumeration,  is,  "  Temperature"  To  elucidate 
this,  we  have  ample  materials,  and  to  make  it 
clear  and  easily  understood,  I  have  tabulated 
the  abstracts  of  mean  temperature  taken  at 
seventeen  stations,  besides  my  own.  (See  Ap- 
pendix.) The  names  of  the  stations,  their  lati- 
tude and  longitude,  is  given,  and  the  number  of 
years  and  parts  of  years,  during  which  these 
observations  were  made,  are  also  given,  and  I 
have  also  added  to  the  tables  and  enclosed  in 
brackets  the  abstracts  of  other  observations  since 
the  following  deductions  wef*e  made,  and  which 
do  not  enter  into  them.  From  this  table  we 
learn  that  the  mean  temperature  of  the  spring 
for  the  entire  State  is  71.62  degrees ;  for  the  sum- 
mer, 80.51  degrees;  for  autumn,  71.66  degrees; 
for  winter,  60.04  degrees  ;  and  for  the  year,  70.95 
degrees.  And  for  the  stations  on  latitude  eighty- 
two  degrees  North,  and  south  of  it,  for  the  spring, 
we  have  74.94  degrees ;  for  summer,  81.93  de- 
grees ;  for  autumn,  76.57  degrees ;  for  winter, 
63.69  degrees ;  and  for  the  year,  74.87  degrees. 
For  the  stations  north  of  latitude  twenty-eight 


THfc '  CLIMATOLOGY  OF  FLORIDA. 


degrees  North,  we  have  for  the  spring,  70.66  de- 
grees ;  for  Bummer,  80.10  degrees ;  for  autumn, 
70.23  degrees;  for  winter,  58.29  degrees;  and  for 
the  year,  69.82  degrees.  There  is  not  exhibited 
any  great  difference  between  the  northern  and 
southern  portions  of  the  State,  but  enough  to 
afford  a  choice  of  temperature  during  the  differ- 
ent seasons,  if  the  visitor  desires  change.  Dur- 
ing tbe  spring,  the  temperature  south  of  twenty- 
eight  degrees  latitude,  is  4.28  degrees  higher; 
and  for  summer,  1.83  degrees  ;  for  autumn,  6.34 
degrees ;  and  for  winter,  5.40  degrees  higher  than 
it  is  north  of  latitude  twenty-eight  degrees. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  temperature  south 
of  latitude  twenty-eight  degrees  is,  in  winter,  5.40 
degrees  higher  than  north  of  twenty-eight  degrees, 
but  that  in  summer  it  is  only  1.83  degrees  higher, 
showing  that  the  difference  between  the  summer 
and  winter  temperature  if  less  south  than  north 
of  twenty-eight  degrees.  This  is  due  to  an  astro- 
nomical law,  which  will  be  referred  to  more  par- 
ticularly hereafter.  No  reasonable  objection  can 
be  urged  to  the  temperature  in  any  part  of  the 
State  for  the  entire  year.  Meteorology  may  be 
•said  to  be  founded  on  the  fact  that  the  rays  of  the 
sun  constitute  a  force  which  produces  nearly  all 
tbe  changes  which  take  place  on  the  surface  of 
the  earth.  The  forces  of  the  earth  itself,  such  as 
gravity,  chemical  affinity,  cohesion,  electricity, 
or  magnetism,  &c.,  are  forces  of  quiescence,  that 
tend  to  bring  matter  to  a  state  of  rest  at  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth,  from  which  it  Is  only  disturbed 
by  the  solar  emanations.  All  elementary  sub- 
stances which  constitute  the  surface  of  our  planet, 
with  the  exception  of  organic  matter,  have  long 
since  gone  into  a  state  of  permanent  combina- 
tion, and  seem  to  have  passed  through  intense 
heat  at  some  remote  period  of  the  past.  "  The 
whole  earth,"  says  Professor  Henry,  "  is  an  im- 
mense slag,  analogous  to  that  drawn  from  the 
smelting  furnace,  surrounded  by  a  liquid  and 
aerial  envelope,  the  former  in  a  state  of  ultimate 
chemical  combination,  and  the  active  principle 
of  the  latter,  oxygen,  finding  nothing  to  combine 
with  except  what  has  been  released  from  former 
combinations  by  the  action  of  the  sun."  If, 
therefore,  the  solar  impulses  were  suspended,  all 
motion  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  would  cease, 
the  aerial  and  the  ocean  currents  would  stop, 
and  silence  and  death  would  reign  supreme.  The 
earth  in  her  revolutions  around  the  sun  describes 
not  a  circle,  but  an  ellipse,  in  one  of  the  foci  of 
which  is  placed  the  sun,  so  that  we  are  nearer 
the  sun  at  one  part  of  the  year  than  at  another. 
It  has  been  mathematically  shown  that  the  earth, 
as  a  whole,  receives  the  greatest  amount  of  heat 
from  the  sun  on  the  first  day  of  January,  and 
the  least  on  the  fourth  day  of  July  (not  on  our 
hemisphere,  but  on  the  whole  earth.) 

The  variation  of  the  distance  of  the  sun  from 
the  earth,  however,  produces  no  effect  on  the 
different  seasons,  as  many  suppose,  since  the 
rapidity  of  motion,  or  the  shorter  duration  of 
proximity  to  the  sun,  just  compensates  fur  the 
greater  intensity  of  the  sun's  rays,  due  to  the 
near  approach.  Owing  to  the  spherical  form  of 
the  earth  the  sun's  rays  strike  it  obliquely  at  all 
places,  except  those  over  which  the  sun  is  ver- 
tical, and  where  his  rays  are  perpendicular,  and 
it  is  these  vertical  rays  alone  that  produce  re- 
sults. The  intensity  of  the  rays  will  be  greatest 


over  the  equatorial  regions  during  the  year  as  a 
whole,  and  will  diminish  to  the  poles. 

The  sum  of  all  the  vertical  rays  from  the  ris- 
ing to  the  setting  of  the  sun.  on  any  day,  will 
represent  the  whole  intensity  of  the  heat  of  the 
sun  on  that  day,  received  on  any  parallel  of  lati- 
tude on  the  earth,  and  in  this  way  may  be  calcu- 
lated the  relative  amount  of  heat  received  on 
differen Platitudes  at  different  seasons  of  the  year : 
from  this  estimate  we  shall  find  that  the  amount 
of  heat  received,  during  any  given  day  of  summer, 
from  the  sun,  at  different  northern  latitudes,  is 
greater  than  that  which  falls  on  the  equator 
during  the  same  time.  This  is  shown  in  a  table 
found  in  L.  W.  Meech's  paper,  "  On  the  Sun's 
Intensity,"  published  in  the  Smithsonian  Contri- 
butions in  1855,  which  table  will  be  found  in  the 
Appendix.  On  the  15th  of  June,  the  sun  is  more 
than  twenty-three  degrees  north  of  the  equator, 
and,  therefore,  it  might  be  readily  inferred  that 
the  intensity  of  heat  should  be  greater  at  this 
latitude  than  at  the  equator,  but  that  it  should 
continue  to  increase  beyond  this,  even  to  the. 
pole,  as  indicated  by  the  table,  may  not,  at  first 
sight,  seem  so  clear.  It  will,  however,  be  under- 
stood, when  it  is  recollected  that  the  table  indi- 
cates the  amount  of  heat  received  during  the 
whole  day ;  and  though  in  a  more  northern  lati- 
tude, the  obliquity  of  the  ray  is  greater,  and  on 
this  account  the  intensity  should  be  less;  yet  the 
longer  duration  of  the  day  is  more  than  sufficient 
to  compensate  this  effect,  and  to  produce  the  re- 
sult exhibited,  an  increased  amount  of  heat. 
And  although  there  is  more  absolute  heat  at 
Jacksonville,  Florida,  during  the  entire  year, 
latitude  thirty  degrees  twenty  minutes,  than 
there  is  at  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  latitude  forty- 
three  degrees  three  minutes,  yet  there  is  more 
heat  received  from  the  sun  at  the  latter  place, 
during  the  three  summer  months,  than  at  the 
former,  during  that  period,  and  Wisconsin  is 
liable  to  experience  a  higher  temperature  during 
the  summer  months  th/m  is  Florida  during  the 
same  time. 

An  analogous,  but  contrary  result,  is  exhibited 
in  regard  to  the  cold  of  winter,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  tables  appended.  It  is  on  this  principle 
that,  as  we  come  from  the  north  towards  the 
equator,  we  find  the  extreme  variation  of  the 
seasons  becoming  less  and  less  as  we  advance. 
The  curve,  representing  the  sun's  intensity,  very 
nearly  corresponds  with  that  of  temperature  in 
the  equatorial  regions,  but  it  becomes  more  bent 
in  comparison  as  we  proceed  north.  Lpon  this 
fact  the  greater  equability  of  the  temperature  of 
Florida  is  established  over  all  places  north  of  it, 
so  far  as  astronomical  influences  can  affect  it, 
and  not  as  liable  to  extremes  of  heat  in  summer, 
nor  of  cold  in  winter. 

There  are  other  causes,  however,  not  astro- 
nomical which  materially  modify  temperature  in 
all  latitudes,  and  we  must  determine  if  any  of 
these  influences  are  in  operation  here,  and,  if  so, 
what  effects  are  produced. 

What  becomes  of  the  heat  received  on  the 
earth  from  the  sun's  rays  V  Heat  is  indestructi- 
ble and  if  it  continues  to  accumulate  on  the 
earth's  surface,  it  will  soon  become  so  intense  as 
to  render  it  an  unfit  residence  for  man,  animals, 
or  plants.  Although  not  in  the  order  which  I 
3rst  intended  to  discuss  this  element  of  climate 


THE    CLIMATOLOGY   OF   FLORIDA. 


yet  the  theory  of  radiation  of  heat  may  very 
properly  be  introduced  here,  in  answer  to  the 
above  interrogatory — what  becomes  of  the  heat'? 
It  is  a  well  established  fact  that  all  bodies  are 
radiating  heat,  even  while  they  are  receiving  it. 
If  the  amount  received  in  a  definite  time  is 
greater  than  that  given  off,  the  temperature  will 
increase.  On  the  contrary,  if  the  amount  given 
off  is  greater  than  the  amount  received,  then  the 
temperature  will  decline.  The  earth  is  constantly 
radiating  heat  into  space,  but  only  receiving  it 
from  the  sun  during  the  day.  The  rays  of  the 
sun  are  rays  of  high  intensity,  and  have  great 
penetrating  power,  but  the  rays  which  the  earth 
gives  off  are  of  low  intensity,  and  have  feeble 
penetrating  power,  unless  the  heat  is  accumula- 
ted so  as  to  make  it  intense.  For  example,  those 
of  high  intensity  will  pass  through  the  glass  of  a 
window  into  a  room,  and  heat  up  the  articles  in 
it,  if  they  are  not  good  conductors  of  heat.  The 
articles  in  the  room  will  begin  also  to  radiate 
heat,  but  of  low  intensity,  which  cannot  pass 
back  through  the  window.  Hence  ihe  room 
acquires  and  maintains  a  high  temperature  from 
the  accumulated  heat  received  and  not  given  off. 
The  atmosphere  which  envelopes  the  earth 
produces  a  similar  result.  The  rays  of  the  sun 
are  transmitted  through  it  to  the  earth,  which, 
in  turn,  emits  rays  of  low  intensity  that  do  not 
so  readily  penetrate  and  pass  through  this  at- 
mospheric envelope,  but  give  rise  to  an  accumu- 
lation of  heat  at  the  surface.  The  resistance  to 
the  transmission  of  heat  of  low  intensity,  de- 
pends upon  the  quantity  of  vapor  in  the  atmos- 
phere, and,  perhaps,  also  to  the  density  of  the 
air  itself.  The  radiation  of  the  earth,  therefore, 
differs  very  much  on  different  nights  and  in  dif- 
ferent localities.  In  places  where  the  air  is  very 
dry,  the  heat  of  the  day  is  excessive,  notwith- 
standing the  radiation  which  is  going  on,  but 
the  nights  become  very  cool.  General  Emery, 
in  his  report  on  the  boundary  survey,  states  that 
on  some  of  the  arid  plains  over  which  he  passed, 
there  was  a  difference  of  sixty  degrees  between 
the  temperature  of  the  day  and  that  of  the  night ; 
the  air  was  so  dry  here  that  heat  of  low  intensity 
would  be  radiated,  so  that  on  one  occasion,  when 
the  camp  ground  was  chosen  in.  a  gorge,  between 
two  steep  hills,  the  interradiation  between  them 
prevented  the  usual  fall  of  the  thermometer,  and 
it  stood  several  degrees  higher  than  on  the  plain 
but  a  few  rods  off.  Professor  Tyndall,  who  be- 
longs to  a  new  school  of  philosophers,  in  an  ar- 
licle  on  radiation,  uses  the  following  language: 
'•  The  observations  of  meteorologists  furnish  im- 
portant, though,  hitherto,  unconscious  evidence 
of  the  influence  of  this  agent,  (vapor  in  the  air.) 
Whenever  the  air  is  dry,  wo  arc  liable  to  ex- 
tremes of  temperature.  By  day,  in  such  places, 
the  sun's  heat  reaches  the  earth  unimpeded,  and 
renders  the  maximum  high ;  by  night,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  earth's  heat  escapes  unhindered 
into  space,  and  renders  the  minimum  low,  hence 
the  difference  between  the  maximum  and  min- 
imum is  greater  where  the  air  is  dryest.  Wher- 
ever drought  reigns  we  have  the  heat  of  the  day 
forcibly  contrasted  with  the  chill  of  the  night. 
In  the  Sahara,  itself,  when  the  sun's  rays  cease 
to  impinge  on  the  burning  sands,  the  tempera- 
ture runs  rapidly  down  to  freezing,  because  there 
is  no  vapor  overhead  to  check  the  calorific  drain. 


And  here  another  instance  might  be  added  to 
the  number  already  known,  in  which  Nature 
tends,  as  it  were,  to  check  her  own  excess.  By 
natural  refrigeration,  the  aqueous  vapor  of  the 
air  is  condensed  to  water  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  as  only  the  superficial  portions  radi- 
ate, the  act  of  condensation  makes  water  the 
radiating  body.  Now,  experiment  proves,  that 
to  the  rays  emitted  by  water,  aqueous  vapor  is 
especially  opaque.  Hence,  the  very  act  of  con- 
densation consequent  on  terrestrial  cooling,  be- 
comes a  safeguard  to  the  earth,  imparting  to  its 
radiation  that  particular  character  which  is  most 
liable  to  be  prevented  from  escaping  into  space. 
It  might  be  argued,  however,  ithat  inasmuch 
as  we  derive  all  our  heat  from  the  sun,  the  self 
same  covering  which  protects  the  earth  from 
chill  must  also  shut  out  the  rays  of  the  sun. 
This  is  partially  true,  but  only  partially.  The 
sun's  rays  are  different  in  quality  from  the  earth's 
rays,  and  it  does  not  follow  that  the  substance 
which  absorbs  the  one  must  necessarily  ab- 
sorb the  other.  Through  a  layer  of  water,  for 
example,  one-tenth  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  the 
sun's  rays  are  transmitted  with  comparative 
freedom,  but  through  a  layer  of  half  this  thick- 
ness, as  Meloni  has  proven,  no  single  ray  from 
the  warmed  earth  could  pass.  In  like  manner, 
the  sun's  rays  pass  with  comparative  freedom 
through  the  aqueous  vapor  of  the  air,  the  ab- 
sorbing power  of  this  substance  being  mainly 
exerted  upon  the  heat  that  endeavors  to  escape 
from  earth.  In  consequence  of  this  differential 
action  upon  solar  and  terrestrial  heat,  the  mean 
temperature  of  our  planet  is  higher  than  is  due 
to  its  distance  from  the  sun.  A  cobweb  spread 
over  a  blossom  is  sufficient  to  protect  it  from 
nightly  chills,  and  thus  the  aqueous  vapor,  at- 
tenuated as  it  is  in  our  air,  checks  the  drain  of 
terrestrial  heat,  and  saves  the  surface  of  our 
planet  from  the  refrigeration  which  would  as- 
suredly accrue,  were  no  such  substance  inter- 
posed between  it  and  the  voids  of  space." 

I  have  dwelt  longer  on  this  particular  element 
of  climate  than  I  would  have  done,  had  not  one 
of  the  principal  objections  to  our  climate  been 
its  "  excessive  humidity"  and  to  meet  this  objec- 
tion I  have  made  lengthy  quotations  from  author- 
ities, from  which  it  appears  that  humidity  in  the 
atmosphere  is  essential  to  protect  us  from  those 
extreme  diurnal  changes  of  temperature  which 
so  seriously  detract  from  those  climates  where 
they  exist,  and  where  the  diurnal  changes  ex- 
ceed the  range  that  I  have  ever  recorded  between 
the  maximum  and  minimum  of  a  mouth,  when 
several  days,  or  weeks,  perhaps,  had  intervened 
between  the  extreme  high  and  low  temperature  ; 
indeed,  the  difference  between  the  highest  and 
lowest  that  1  have  recorded,  in  thirty-six  years, 
is  not  so  great  as  is  the  diurnal  difference  in 
many  places  where  a  very*  dry  atmosphere  ex- 
ists. "  I  give  an  abstract,  of  my  own  records,  for 
the  months  of  November,  December,  January, 
February,  and  March,  five  months,  as  deduced 
from  several  year's  observations.  The  mean 
diurnal  range  for  November  is  thirteen  degrees, 
four-tenths ;  for  December,  thirteen  degrees, 
nine-tenths;  for  January,  fourteen  degrees, 
four-tenths ;  for  February,  fourteen  degrees ; 
for  March,  fourteen  degrees,  nine-tenths.  These 
are  the  five  months  in  which  visitors  are  partic- 


a 


THE  CLIMATOLOGY  OF  FLORIDA. 


ularly  interested,  and  they  are  also  those  in 
which  the  greatest  diurnal  variation  occurs  dur- 
ing the  year. 

The  average  number  of  frosts  for  the  month  of 
January,  in  Jacksonville,  in  twenty-seven  years' 
record,  is  5.4  ;  for  February,  3.1  ;  for  March,  1.3; 
for  April,  0.2;  and  no  more  until  October,  0.2  ; 
for  November,  2.3  ;  1'or  December,  5.2.  The  first 
frost  in  the  lall  has  occurred  in  October,  four 
times ;  in  November,  sixteen  times ;  in  Decem- 
ber, seven  times ;  and  twice  the  second  frost  has 
occurred  in  February.  There  have  been  several 
years  in  which  no  frost  occurred  in  October; 
there  have  been  years  in  'which  none  have  oc- 
curred in  November  or  December.  There  have 
been  years  when  no  frosts  occurred  in  January, 
none  in  February,  still  more  in  which  March 
was  exempt ;  very  few  frosts  have  occurred  in 
April,  and  none  after.  In  1858  a  frost  occurred 
on  the  28th  of  April,  which  is  the  latest  re- 
corded ;  and  there  have  been  but  four  Aprils  in 
which  frosts  have  been  recorded  ;  and  there  have 
been  but  four  Octobers  in  which  they  have  been 
recorded.  From  these  statements,  an  idea  can 
be  formed  of  the  average  amount  of  freezing 
weather  in  winter.  December  and  January  are 
the  oftenest  visited  with  frosts — a  little  over  five 
times  in  each  month  on  an  average. 

As  clearness  of  sky  is  connected  with  the  sub- 
ject of  radiation,  and  is  also  an  important  ele- 
ment of  climate,  it  will  be  introduced  here.  I 
have,  in  making  up  my  results,  of  which  I  pro- 
pose to  present  an  abstract,  counted  those  days 
clear  which  were  marked  from  0  up  to  5,  the 
latter  representing  the  sky  half  covered  with 
clouds.  The  month  of  January,  from  twenty- 
two  years'  observations,  has  had  an  average  of 
20.3  clear  days  ;. February,  for  twenty-five  years, 
19.5;  March,  for  the  same  period.  20.4;  April, 
25  ;  May,  for  twenty-six  years,  22.1  clear  days  ; 
June,  for  twenty-five  years,  17.1 ;  July,  for  the 
same  period,  18.5  ;  August,  for  twenty-six  years, 
19.1  clear  days ;  September,  for  twenty-four 
years,  17.2  ;  October,  for  twenty-five  years,  19.2 ; 
November,  for  twenty-four  years,  20.0  ;  Decem- 
ber, for  the  same  period,  20  clear  days.  For 
spring,  the  average  is  63.7;  for  summer,  55.1; 
for  autumn,  56.4 ;  for  winter,  59.8 ;  and  for  the 
year,  235  clear  days  out  of  365,  leaving  130  days 
in  which  the  sky  was  more  than  half  covered 
with  clouds,  and  on  some  of  which  rain  has 
fallen.  In  January,  there  has  been  an  average 
of  6.6  rainy  days  f  in  February,  3.6 ;  in  March, 
5.7 ;  and  in  December,  5.4  rainy  days,  and  these 
constitute  the  four  months  in  which  visitors  are 
especially  interested.  In  these  months  we  have 
an  average  of  21.3  rainy  days  out  of  121  clays. 

I  have  not  calculated  the  results  for  the  other 
stations  in  the  State  in  relation  to  this  subject, 
but  from  a  pretty  careful  examination  of  them, 
I  judge  that  the  results  would  not  materially  vary 
from  what  I  have  given  from  my  own  tables : 
and,  on  the  whole,  the  preponderance  of  clear 
over  cloudy  and  rainy  days,  speaks  decidedly  in 
favor  of  our  climate,  as  being  characterized  by  a 
fair  amount  of  pleasant  weather.  The  term  rel- 
ative humidity,  as  used  in  our  meteorological 
tables,  is  calculated  to  produce  on  the  minds  of 
those  who  have  not  especially  informed  them- 
selves of  its  real  value  in  absolute  moisture 
which  is  contained  in  the  atmosphere,  a  very 


erroneous  impression.  When  the  temperature  is 
fifty  degrees,  the  barometer  30.00,  and  the  rela- 
tive humidity  marked  100,  there  is  in  one  cubic 
foot  of  air  only  about  four  grains  of  water.  If  the 
temperature  is  one  hundred  degrees,  ihe  barom- 
eter the  same  as  before,  30.00,  and  the  relative 
humidity  still  recorded  100,  a  cubic  foot  of  air 
will  contain  twenty  grains  of  water.  Now,  if 
the  temperature  is  again  reduced  to  fifty  degrees, 
the  barometer  the  same,  30.00,  and  the  relative 
humidity  recorded  still  100,  the  cubic  foot  of  air 
will  have  parted  with  sixteen  grains  of  water, 
and  it  will  be  still  saturated,  although  it  contains 
but  four  grains,  only  one  fourth  of  the  weight  of 
water  that  it  did  at  the  temperature  of  one  hun- 
dred degrees.  Very  few  would  appreciate  this 
difference  by  looking  at  the  record  ;  if  they  have 
relative  humidity  recorded  at  100,  they  would, 
without  understanding  it,  pronounce  the  climate 
a  very  clamp  one,  and  this,  no  doubt,  has  led 
many  to  believe  this  climate  to  be  excessively 
damp,  as  it  has  often  been  considered.  Let  us 
reverse  the  calculation  just  given  ;  suppose  in- 
stead of  the  temperature  being  fifty  degrees,  it 
was  one  hundred  degrees,  and  there  was  no  ac- 
cession of  moisture,  the  cubic  foot  of  air  would 
contain  four  grains  of  water ;  whilfe  a  cubic  foot 
of  air  is  capable  of  containing  twenty  grains  at, 
that  temperature,  it  is  clear  that  four  grains  will 
only  saturate  one-fourth  of  it,  and  one-fourth  of 
100  would  be  twenty-five  ;  and  if  many  should 
see  in  the  column  of  relative  humidity  the  record 
twenty-five,  they  wor.ld  be  very  well  satisfied 
that  this  was  a  ver}r  dry  climate,  and  yet  there  is 
no  less  absolute  moisture  in  it  than  there  was 
when  recorded  100,  and  the  temperature  fifty  de- 
grees. 

I  have  bec!n  thus  particular  in  endeavoring  to 
place  this  matter  in  a  clear  light,  because  it  has 
been  the  cause  of  much  disparagement  of  our  cli- 
mate, from  the  fact  that  the  term  relative  humid- 
ity has  not  been  understood  by  the  objectors.  I 
have  determined  from  my  own  tables  the  relative- 
humidity  approximately  by  taking  the  mean  tem- 
perature of  the  month,  and  the  average  difference 
between  the  dry  and  wet  bulb  thermometers,  the 
mean  of  the  dry  bulb  being  the  same  as  the  mean 
temperature  of  the  month,  and  with  these  I  de- 
duce the  relative  humidity  by  the  assistance  of 
the  tables  provided  for  the  purpose,  and  the  fol- 
lowing is  the  result :  For  the  month  of  January, 
the  relative  humidity  is  67.20;  for  February, 
67.15;  for  March,  57.50;  for  April,  63.20;  for 
May,  62.60;  for  June,  73.3;  for  July,  74.7;  for 
August,  73.4;  for  September,  76.8;  for  October, 
74.4 ;  for  November,  71.5 ;  for  December,  74.0 ; 
for  spring,  61.0:  for  summer,  73.8;  for  autumn, 
74.2  ;  for  winter,  69.4  ;  for  the  year,  69.6  ;  the  an- 
nual and  winter  mean  being  nearly  the  same, 
showing  a  considerable  amount  of  moisture  in 
the  atmosphere,  but  by  no  means  an  "  ex- 
cessively damp  climate,"  for  the  annual  mean 
shows  that  upon  an  average  there  is  but  (5.7)  five 
and  seven-tenths  grains  of  water  to  the  cubic  foot 
of  air,  not  deleterious  to,  or  uncomfortable  for 
respiration,  and  to  keep  the  air  passages  properly 
lubricated,  but  enough  to  prevent  those  great 
diurnal  extremes  of  temperature  so  deleterious 
to  the  health  and  comfort  of  mankind.  Here,  as 
well  as  elsewhere,  where  rain  falls,  there  must 
be  times  when  the  air  is  fully  saturated,  else 


THE    CLIMATOLOGY   OF  FLORIDA. 


there  could  be  no  precipitation,  and  agriculture 
or  fruit-growing  could  not  be  prosecuted  to  ad- 
vantage, nor  would  it  be  a  comfortable  residence 
for  man. 

In  its  topography,  Florida  presents  no  moun- 
tains and  no  elevated  plateaus  exceeding -300  feet 
above  the  sea,  by  which  it%  bounded  on  all  sides, 
except  on  its  northern  border  ;  but  it  is  not,  as 
many  times  represented,  a  low,  flat,  marshy  coun- 
try, !br  in  many  portions  its  surface  is  undulating 
and  rolling.  Its  area  covers  59,248  square  miles 
of  pine  land,  oak  hammocks,  flat  savannas,  nu- 
merous clear  fresh  water  lakes  and  rivers,  which 
add  beauty  to  the  landscape,  comfort,  pleasure, 
and  subsistence  to  the  inhabitants  in  their  vicin- 
ity, for  most  of  the  two  latter  are  liberally  stocked 
with  fine  varieties  of  fish.  Many  of  our  springs, 
and  small  lakes  even,  are  artesian,  and  rise  from 
the  substrata  of  rocks  upon  which  the  arable  soil 
is  based,  and  pour  out  copious  streams  of  water 
to  augment  the  volume  of  our  rivers,  which  dis- 
charge into  the  sea.  The  probable  sources  of 
these  are  in  the  higher  lands  on  our  northern 
border,  and  are  supplied  by  the  rainfall  of  neigh- 
boring States.  The  State  is,  in  some  portions, 
traversed  by  subterranean  streams  of  consider- 
able size,  whose  course,  in  many  instances,  is 
marked  by  the  line  of  funnel-shaped  sinks,  where 
the  sand  above  the  rocky  strata  has  filtered  down 
through  abrasions  of  the  rocks,  and  has  been  car- 
ried off  by  the  current  beneath,  leaving  the  sink, 
at  the  bottom  of  which  water  is  always  present, 
and  in  many  of  which  fish  are  abundant.  Most  of 
these  subterranean  streams  have  their  outlets  in 
the  springs  above  described,  but  some  are  known 
to  discharge  into  the  sea  off  the  Atlantic  coast  of 
the  Peninsula,  and  with  sufficient  force  to  dis- 
place the  denser  salt  water,  so  that  fresh  water 
has  often  been  obtained  at  sea,  simply  by  draw- 
ing it  up  in  buckets  over  the  vessel's  sides. 
Many  of  these  artesian  fountains  are  mineral ; 
sulphur,  iron,  magnesia,  lime,  &c.,  being  the  con- 
stituents. There  are  but  few  extensive  marshes 
in  the  State.  At  the  sources  of  the  rivers,  on  the 
summits,  are  often  found  savannas,  covering 
many  acres,  but  they  do  not,  like  the  marshes 
and  savannas  in  many  other  countries,  consist  of 
deep  alluvial  deposits,  which  have  been  brought 
down  from  higher  elevations,  because  these  are 
the  summits  themselves  from  which  the  water 
supply  of  the  rivers  come.  This  is  a  peculiarity 
in  Florida,  and  the  residents  around  these  savan- 
nas are  not  specially  liable  to  diseases  of  a  mala- 
rial character.  That  large  area  on  the  lower  end 
of  the  Peninsula  called  the  Everglades,  and  cov- 
ered by  water,  is  by  many  supposed  to  be  marshy; 
but  such  is  not  the  fact,  for  it  is  simply  a  shallow 
lake,  elevated  above  the  ocean  some  ten  or  more 
feet,  surrounded  by  a  rocky  rim,  with  >\  sandy 
and  rocky  bottom/ containing  clear  fresh  water, 
which  is  discharged  through  fissures  or  apertures 
in  the  rocky  rim  into  Key  Biscayne  Bay,  and 
probably  through  outlets  on  the  west  sicfe  into 
the  Gulf.  At  the  north  of  the  Everglades  is 
Lake  Okeechobee,  the  largest  body  of  fresh  wa- 
ter in  the  interior  of  the  State,  ft  is  fed  by  the 
Kissirnmee  river,  whose  source  is  in  the  same  sa- 
vanna, or  summit  level,  which  is  the  source  of 
the  St.  Johns  river.  Its  outlet  is  into  the  Ever- 
glades. Interspersed  through  this  savanna,  and 
that  at  the  head  of  the  Ocklawaha  river,  are  nu- 


merous lakes,  which,  by  modifying  and  equaliz- 
ing the  temperature,  render  the  country  around 
their  borders  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  culture  of 
oranges  and  other  tropical  fruits,  while  at  the 
same  time  the  residents  in  general  enjoy  good 
health,  both  summer  and  winter. 

There  are  here,  as  well  as  in  every  newly- 
opened  country,  some  localities  where  diseases, 
termed  malarial,  will  for  a  time  prevail,  but  are 
here  of  a  mild  form  and  easily  managed.  Having 
alluded  in  this  general  way  to  the  topography  of 
the  State,  we  will  now  give  an  abstract  of  "the 
rainfall,  the  materials  for  which  consist  of  rec- 
ords from  nine  stations  in  the  peninsula,  and  two 
in  West  Florida.  I  regret  that  I  have  none  f  rom 
the  Middle  District.  From  my  own  experience 
here,  I  am  satisfied  that  to  be  able  to  determine 
satisfactorily  the  amount  of  rain  which  falls  on 
any  locality,  the  observations  should  be  extended 
over  a  period  of  at  least  ten  years,  in  order  to  ob- 
tain a  fair  mean,  for  I  can  select  from  my  own 
tables,  one,  two,  and  three  years,  and  which 
sometimes  come  in  succession,  that  are  peculiarly 
dry  years,  or  peculiarly  wet  ones,  from  which,  i"f 
a  mean  was  struck,  it  would  not  be  a  fair  average. 
Our  so-called  rainy  season,  though  sufficiently 
marked  to  warrant  the  designation  during  most 
years,  is  not  always  so  well  defined.  It  generally 
embraces  a  period  of  about  sixty  days,  and  ordi- 
narily commences  about  the  middle  of  June,  and 
terminates  about  the  middle  of  August,  but  it 
oscillates  from  May  to  September.  Sometimes 
the  rainy  season  apparently  commences,  and  per- 
haps daily  showers  will  recur  regularly  for  one 
or  two  weeks,  or  more,  and  then,  perhaps,  weeks 
of  clear,  settled  weather  will  be  interpolated,  and 
the  rainy  reason  will  come  on  again,  and  con- 
tinue, so  that  about  the  usual  complement  of 
rainy  days  will  occur.  During  the  rainy  season, 
the  rain  is  by  no  means  continuous,  but  comes  in 
showers  of  from  a  half  to  one  hour  or  more  in 
continuance,  and  between  the  hours  of  from  1  to 
4  P.  M. ;  sometimes,  but  not  always,  attended 
with  thunder  and  lightning. 

Before  the  shower,  the  atmosphere  may  be 
hot  and  sultry,  but  afterwards  the  sun  shines  out, 
the  air  is  pure,  cool,  and  refreshing.  The  show- 
ers generally  come  with  such  regularity  that 
they  need  not  interrupt  business,  labor,  or 
pleasure,  only  during  their  continuance,  for 
timely  preparation  to  avoid  them  can  be  made 
if  desired.  Sometimes  they  are  preceded  by 
squalls  of  wind,  which  might  endanger  small 
crafts  on  the  river,  if  ordinary  precaution  was 
not  taken.  Occasionally  a  fall  of  hail  will 
result,  if  the  clouds  fimu  different  directions 
meet,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  but  instances 
where  damage  has  been  done  to  vegetation  have 
been  very  rare.  The  moisture  evaporated  from 
the  Gulf  is  the  principal  source  of  our  summer 
showers.  In  the  appendix  will  be  found  the 
table  showing  the  rain-faR  of  the  State.  Here 
are  eleven  stations  scattered  over  the  State. 
You  will  observe  that  iu  the  peninsula  the  sta- 
tions of  Fort  Myers  and  Fort  Pierce,  the  former 
on  the  Caloosahatche,  on  the  west,  and  the 
latter  on  Indian  river,  on  the  Atlantic,  furnish 
the  largest  amount  of  water.  These  show  that 
the  watershed  supplying  the  Everglades  and 
the  St.  Johns  receives  the  greatest  rain-fall. 
Pensacola,  in  the  west,  receives  the  next  greatest 


THE    CLIMATOLOGY  OF  FLORIDA. 


amount,  and  Tampa  the  next.    Take  Tampa, 
Fort  Myers,  and  Fort  Pierce,  we  have  a  rain- 
fall of  sixty  inches  during  the  year,  and  this 
district  is  marked  sixty  iuches  on  the  Hyetal 
cliarts,  which  have  been  constructed  to  show  the 
rain-fall  of  the  United  States ;  and  in  the  west 
there  exists  another  such  region,  in  the  eastern 
portion  of   which  Pensacola  is  located.    This 
is  also  marked  sixty  inches,  and  are  the  only 
localities  in  the  United  States,  except  one  other 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
river,  Oregon,  that  is  marked  as  high.     The  rain- 
fall of  the  State  north  of  north  latitude  twenty- 
eight  degrees,  and  east  of  Pensacola,  is  about 
forty-four  inches  annually  on  the  average.    I 
have  recorded  an  annual  fall  as  low  as  thirty-five 
inches  in  Jacksonville,  and  as  high  as  sixty-seven 
inches ;  hence  I  conclude  that  the  mean  given 
to  St.  Augustine,  31.80,  does  not  represent  the 
average  rain-fall  of  the  place,  and  was  deduced 
from  one  and  a  part  of  four  years'  observations. 
The  annual  rain-fall  of  1857,  as  reported  by  Dr. 
Mauran,  was  40.85  inches,  which  is  low  in  com- 
parison with  other  stations,  except  Fort  Mead, 
which  is  40.22  inches.    There  are  causes  which 
are  known,  that  account  for  the  smaller  amount 
of  rain-fall  at  St.  Augustine.   I  have  often,  when 
on  the  sea  islands  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  witnessed 
the  influence  which  the  sea-breeze  exerted  in 
preventing  the  rain  cloud  approaching  from  the 
west,  from  reaching  the  coast. 

I  have,  in  the  early    summer,  just  after  the 
rainy  season  had  set  in  here,  often  gone  to  the 
islands,  and  not  a  drop  had  fallen  there  yet ;  nor 
on  the  mainland  which  lay  immediately  on  the 
coast ;  and  I  have  seen  the  clouds  approach  from 
the  west  or  southwest,  and  would  be  arrested 
over  the  mainland  one  or  two  miles  distant,  and 
in  sight,  and  pour  down  rain  freely  for  an  hour 
or  more,  but  not  a  drop  would  fall  on  the  island 
where  I  was ;  and  this  action  of  the  sea-breeze, 
no  doubt,  accounts  for  the  smaller  amount  of 
rain-fall  at  St.  Augustine,  situated  as  it  is  on  the 
coast.    In  a  short  time,  however,  the  summer 
rains  reach  the  coast,  because  the  easterly  winds 
become  less  prevalent  in  June  and  July  than 
previously.    I  have  also  noticed  that  the  winds 
and   rain  clouds  were  disposed   to  follow  the 
course  of  the  river,  through  its  different  reaches, 
during  the  summer,  sometimes  to  the  advantage 
and  sometimes  to  the  detriment  of  those  passing 
up  and  down  in  small  boats.     Rain,  in  many 
instances,   will  pour  down  on   the  river  itself, 
while  scarcely  a  drop  will  fall  on  the  banks.     I 
have  often   seen  rain    apparently  falling  on   a 
point  five  miles  above  this  city,  but  upon  inquiry 
none  had  fallen  there,  or  here,  but  there  had 
been  a  smart  shower  on  the  river  between  the 
two  places.    I  mention  this  fact  now,  as  I  shall 
use  it  hereafter  to  illustrate  phenomena  which 
may  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  cli- 
mate of    Florida.     The  amount  of  rain  meas- 
ured in  any  one  locality  may  not  give  the  exact 
amount  which  has  fallen  on  the  region  around 
in  the  vicinity.    There  are  several  causes  which 
may,  and  often  do,  produce  discrepancies  in  the 
results  of  different  observers.    An  elevated  rain 
gauge  is  not  likely  to  measure  as  much  as  one 
on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  because  when  the  air 
is  saturated,  a  drop  of  rain  passing  through 
it  from  the  upper  to  the  lower  gauge,  will  in- 


crease in  bulk  during  its  passage;  hence  the  lower 

one  will  measure  the  most.  In  the  same  place, 
with  but  few  rods  intervening,  the  results  given 
by  two  observers  may  be  unlike.  Showers  in  nar- 
row lines  often  fall  so  that  one  gauge  would 
have  a  sensible  quantfcy  for  measurement,  while- 
over  the  other  there  was  but  a  sprinkling  of 
rain,  and  none  to  measure.  The  results  given 
arc,  therefore,  but  an  approximation  to  the 
exact  truth,  but  taken  through  a  long  period  of 
time  the  results  may  be  considered  entirely  reli- 
able if  the  measure  has  been  properly  placed. 

In  order  to  be  able  to  understand  many  otncr 
meteorological  phenomena,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  have  at  least  a  general  knowledge  of  the  laws 
which  govern  the  barometrical  pressure  of  the 
atmosphere,  and  especially  its  relation   to  the 
theory  of  the  circulation  of  the  winds.    The  ac- 
cumulation of  the  atmosphere  over  head  causes 
barometric   pressure,  producing  a  rise  of    the 
column  of  mercury  in  the  instrument.     Now  the 
atmosphere  has  the  credit  of  extending  to  vari- 
ous altitudes,  from  forty  to  even  two  hundred 
miles,  but  it  may  be  put  at  about  fifty  miles  as 
the  upper  surface  of  the  atmosphere,  the  lower 
strata  being  the  most  dense,  and  becoming  less 
and  less  so  as  we  go  up.    The  barometer  at  the 
sea  level  stands  at  30.00  inches,  and  at  3.4  nailer 
above  the  sea  level  the  barometer  stands  at  15.00 
inches,  so  that  one  half  of  the  atmosphere  in 
weight  is  below  that  level,  and  which  is  much 
below  the  top  of  many  of  our  mountains,  and 
very  much  below  the  elevation  to  which  bal- 
loons have  •attained.     When  air  is  heated,  either 
by  the  direct  influence  of  the  sun,  or  by  currents 
of  higher  temperature,  its  particles  expand  far- 
ther than  what  is  due  to  their  relief  from  pres- 
sure ;  they  become  lighter  and  ascend  higher  into 
space,  and  spread  out  and  flow  off  laterally. 
Under  this  column  the  barometer  will  fall  be- 
cause of  the  diminished  pressure.     The  contrary 
takes  place  when  the  air  is  condensed  by  cold ;  and 
when  the  aerial  masses  flow  together  to  fill  up 
the  space  left  void  by  condensation,  the  weight 
of  the  column  is  increased  and  the  barometer 
rises.     A  fall  of  the  barometer,  unlike  that  of 
the  thermometer,  indicates  an  increase,  while  its 
rise    indicates    a    diminution    of    temperature. 
This  is  so  much  the  case  here  in  Florida,  that 
from  the  barometer  alone  we  obtain  a  close  ap- 
proximation to  temperature,  as  well  as  atmos- 
pheric pressure.     I  have  often  amused  myself  in 
the  construction  of  a  diagram  on  which  I  have 
protracted  the  curves  of  the  thermometer  and  of 
the  barometer,  making  the  figures  of  one  in- 
crease from  the  top  downwards,  and  the  other 
from  the  bottom  upwards,  and  the  parallelism 
thus  shown  between  the  curves  was  remarkable. 
But  this  was  not  so  at  the  North  and   in  New 
England,  and  this  is  another  fact  which  shows 
ours  to  be  the  more  equable  climate.     At  the 
North,  and  in  New  England,  pressure  and  tem- 
perature are  both  liable  to  frequent  fluctuations 
and  attended  with  storms  of  greater  or  less  sev- 
erity.    This  equability  of  pressure  does  not  ex- 
ist to  the  same  degree  as  here,  in  the  islands  of 
the  gulf  south  of  us,  for  there,  there  are  often 
sudden  and  rapid  fluctuations,  which  indicate 
dangerous  atmospheric  disturbances,  which  por- 
tend or  accompany  storms  of    a  violent  and 
cyclonic  character,  which  take  a  spiral  course, 


THE   CLIMATOLOGY  OF  FLORIDA. 


and  under  the  influence  of  which  we  are  occa-  j 
sionally,  but  very  seldom,  brought— at  least  here,  | 
on  the  base  of  the  Peninsula. 

This  parallelism  of  the  barometer  and  ther- 
mometer curves,  was  noticed  by  Professor  Rus- 
sell, an  eminent  Scotch  meteorologist,  who  vis- 
ited this  country  several  years  ago,  and  lectured 
at  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  Washington,  and 
he  found  that  it  existed  in  the  States  south  and 
west  of  the  Allegbany  range.  The  pressure  of 
the  atmosphere  varies  over  different  degrees  of 
latitude.  At  the  Equator,  says  Reclus,  the  bar- 
ometer stands  at  about  29.84  inches,  but  from 
latitude  ten  to  thirty,  or  thirty-five  degrees  north, 
it  increases  so  that  it  stands  at  or  above  30.00 
inches,  and  this  after  being  reduced  so  as  to  ob- 
tain the  pressure  only.  I  will  here  remark, 
that  we  are  in  this  latitude  under  the  belt  of 
high  barometer,  for  the  mean  of  my  own  obser- 
vations shows,  that  the  barometric  pressure  is 
about  30.100  inches,  one-tenth  of  an  inch  above 
thirty  inches.  The  results  at  the  signal  station 
here,  confirm  this;  at  New  Orleans  and  along 
this  line  of  latitude,  similar  results  are  observed, 
and  this  belt  of  high  pressure  is  the  dividing  line 
between  the  trade  wind  belt  of  the  tropics,  and 
the  belt  of  westerly  winds  north  of  the  trade 
winds.  And  a  belt  of  high  barometer  divides 
the  westerly  wind  belt  from  the  Polar  belt,  to 
which  I  shall  more  particularly  refer  presently. 
There  are  other  minor  oscillations  of  the  barom- 
eter which  it  is  not  necessary  in  this  discussion 
to  refer  to,  and  1  will  now  proceed  to  discuss 
one  of  the  most  important  elements  of  climate, 
the  atmospheric  circulation,  or  the  system  of 
winds  of  the  Northern  Hemisphere,  as  they  affect 
us  in  these  latitudes.  The  sun  here  is  the  great 
motive  power  which  destroys  the  equilibrium  of 
the  atmosphere,  and  gives  r'ise  to  all  the  currents 
which  circulate  over  land  and  sea.  In  obedience 
to  physical  law,  the  repulsion  of  the  atoms  of 
the  air  are  increased  by  being  brought  closer  to 
each  other  by  pressure,  and  it  is  also  increased 
by  the  addition  of  heat.  If  water  at  ordinary 
pressure  is  converted  into  steam  or  vapor,  a 
cubic  inch  of  water  is  transformed  into  about  a 
cubic  foot  of  vapor;  the  atoms  of  vapor  are, 
therefore,  twelve  times  farther  apart  than  when 
they  were  in  a  state  of  water.  The  action  of 
heat  has  had  the  effect  of  putting  every  atom  in 
a  state  of  repulsion  with  regard  to  its  fellows. 
Every  one  tends  to  fly  off  from  the  other  with 
as  much  force  as  if  each  was  under  the  influ- 
ence of  a  powerful  spring.  This  intensity  of 
the  repulsion  of  the  atoms  constitutes  the  force 
of  vapor.  The  density  of  the  air  at  the  sur- 
face, and  its  levity  in  the  upper  atmosphere, 
tends  to  produce  an  equilibrium  of  the  whole 
atmospheric  mass,  but  in  a  most  delicate  kind  of 
balance,  liable  to  be  disturbed  by  the  slightest 
accession  of  heat  in  any  part  of  the  mass.  Un- 
derstanding this  delicacy  of  balance,  we  proceed 
to  demonstrate  what  effect  the  addition  of  heat 
has  on  the  general  circulation  of  the  atmosphere. 
The  atmosphere  within  the  tropics  being 
heated,  expands  and  rises  upwards,  the  denser 
air  on  either  side,  north  and  south,  presses  in  to 
fill  the  void  made  by  the  ascending  column,  and 
a  surface  current  would  thus  be  established  back 
to  the  pole ;  the  heated  air  at  the  equator  rises 
up  until  the  levity  of  the  air  above  on  each  side 


will  allow  the  ascending  column  to  flow  off  lat- 
erally north  and  south  to  the  poles;  and  thus 
we  have  an  upper  current  from  the  equator  to 
the  pole  established,  which  unites  and  becomes 
continuous  with  the  suri'ace  current  from  the  pole 
to  the  equator,  and  would  continue  to  pass  in 
this  current  continually,  all  the  while  endeavor- 
ing to  restore  the  lost  equilibrium.  But  these 
currents  cannot  restore  lost  equilibrium,  because 
of  the  constant  addition  of  heat  at  the  equator, 
and  the  distribution  of  it  towards  the  pole,  and 
they  cannot  flow  along  the  meridians  in  conse- 
que'nce  of  the  rotation  of  the  earth  from  west 
to  east ;  but  those  at  the  surface  will  take  a  wes- 
terly course,  while  those  above  will  flow  in  an 
easterly  direction.  When  the  upper  current  has 
reached  the  thirtieth  degree  of  latitude,  owing  to 
the  spherical  form  of  the  earth,  the  meridians 
have  so  closely  approached  each  other,  that  space 
sufficient  is  not  allowed  for  the  wind  to  flow  in 
the  same  plane,  and  the  result  of  this  necessity 
is,  that  that  part  of  the  upper  current  is  forced 
down  to  the  earth,  and  returns  back,  mingled 
with  the  surface  current,  and  makes  the  trade 
wind  of  the  tropics ;  and  another  portion  in  its 
conflict  with  the  surface  current  creates  a  new 
belt  of  winds,  which  constitute  the  belt  of  wes- 
terly winds  north  of  the  trade  wind  belt,  and  a 
portion  of  the  upper  current  still  passing  on,  un- 
til in  consequence  of  the  still  diminishing  space- 
between  meridians  in  the  plane  of  the  upper  cur- 
rent, another  descent  is  made  to  the  earth,  and 
the  northern  boundary  of  the  westerly  belt  is 
there  established,  which  is  also  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  polar  belt,  which  extends  to  the 
pole,  where  the  winds  are  southerly.  (I  am  of 
course  referring  to  the  Northern  Hemisphere.) 
This  is  the  theory  of  the  atmospheric  circulation, 
described  in  my  own  language,  as  succinctly  as 
possible,  and  now  I  propose  to  bring  to  bear 
upon  this  subject  the  result  of  an  analysis  of  the 
observations  taken  at  over  six  hundred  stations 
on  land  on  the  Northern  Hemisphere,  made  by 
Professor  Coffin,  in  his  great  work  on  the  winds 
of  the  Northern  Hemisphere,  and  from  observa- 
tions innumerable,  furnished  by  the  wind  and 
current  charts  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  ocean, 
collected  by  Professor  Maury. 

Professor  Coffin's  work  was  published  as  Con- 
tributions to  Science,  by  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, in  1850,  in  which  there  is  shown  great  re- 
search, and  an  almost  infinite  amount  of  labor, 
and  his  results  are  now  accepted  in  all  parts  of  the 
civilized  world  as  reliable  authority;  and  after 
concluding  his  labors,  he  modestly  asks  :  "  Do 
not  the  results  authorize  us  to  lay  down  the  fol- 
lowing, as  a  general  description  of  the  winds  of 
the  Northern  Hemisphere  ?  First.  That  from 
high  northern  latitudes  the  winds  proceed  in  a 
southerly  direction,  but  veer  to  the  west  as  they 
approach  a  limit  running* from  about  latitude 
fifty-six  degrees  on  the  western  continent  to  about 
latitude  sixty-eight  degrees  on  the  eastern,  where, 
they  become  irregular  and  disappear.  Second. 
That  farther  south  there  is  a  belt  of  westerly 
winds,  less  than  two  thousand  miles  in  breadth, 
encircling  the  earth  ;  the  westerly  direction  be- 
ing clearly  defined  in  the  middle  of  the  belt,  but 
gradually  disappearing  as  we  approach  the  limits 
on  either  side.  Third.  That  south  of  the  zone 
last  named,  the  mean  direction  of  the  wind  it 


10 


THE   CLIMATOLOGY  OF  FLORIDA. 


easterly."     Or,  in   other  words,  he  determined 
that  in  the  northern   belt  lie  found  the  winds 
were  northerly,  in  the  middle  belt  westerly,  and 
in  the  tropical  belt  easterly.     There  were  local 
influences  in   different   localities  to   render   the  \ 
winds  conflicting,  and  it   was  a  difficult  task  to  , 
reduce  them  all  to  their  mean  normal  direction,  ; 
and  establish  the  results  which  conform  to  the  j 
theory  of  atmospheric  circulation  in  most  par-  j 
ticulars.     There  are  some   localities  where  the  ! 
local  influence  predominates  over  the  general,  ; 
in  giving   direction    to  wind  currents,  of  which  i 
he  became  fully  aware.     In  making  his   reduc- 
tions, he   assumes  that  the   wind  in   its  normal 
course  is  one  hundred,  aud  in  reducing  conflict-  ; 
ing  winds  to  the  normal  course,  that  a  certain 
amount  of  their  force  and  velocity  in  moving  in  i 
that  course  has  been  lost  by  conflicting  forces,  \ 
and  the  rate  of  progress  given  is  a  fraction  of  ; 
•one  hundred.     It,  for  instance,  we  take  St.  Au- 
gustine, as  reduced  from  four  years' observations  j 
of  the  direction  and  force  of  the  wind  at  that  j 
place,  the  mean  direction  for  the  mouth  of  Jan-  I 
uary,  was  found  to  be  North  nine  cleg,  twenty-  ' 
seven  min.  East,  for  February,  South   seventy-  i 
eight  deg.  fifty- three  min.  East,  for  March,  South  j 
eighty-one  deg.  fifty-two   min.  East,  for  April, 
South  seventy-tour  cleg,  thirty-two  mins  East,  for 
May,  South  sixty-five  deg.  twelve  min.  East,  for 
•lune,  South  eighty-live   deg.  twenty -nine  min. 
East,  for  July,  South  sixty-one  deg.  five   min. 
Bast,  for  August,  South  fifty-four  deg.  forty-eight 
min.  East,  for  September,  North  seventy-six  deg. 
forty-two  min.  East,  for  October,  North   fifty- 
seven  cleg,  twenty-six  min.  East,  for  November, 
North  thirty -seven  deg.  fifty-eight  min.  East,  for 
December,  North  fifty-six    deg.   thirteen    min. 
East,  and  for  the  ybftf,  reduced  to  a  mean,  was, 
North  seventy-nine  deg.  nineteen  min.  East,  be- 
ing not  quite  two  degrees  North  of  East,  and 
the    rate    :of    progress    was    twenty-five,    only 
one-fourth  of  the  rate  of  its  normal  course.     I 
give  this  as  an  illustration  of  his  process  of  re- 
duction, from  months  to  yearly  means.     I  put  in 
tabular  form,  several  points  in  Florida,  in  order 
to  determine  the  mean  direction  of  the  wind  in 
all  parts  of  the  State,  and  will  give  the  yearly 
means  and  the  number  of  years  covered  by  the 
observations ;  aud  here,  as  well  as  in  other  ob- 
servations, it   is  desirable  to   have  as  extended 
a  series  as  possible,  to  obtain  exact  results. 

For  St.  Augustine,  from  four  years'  observa- 
tions, the  mean  direction  was,  N.  seventy-nine 
degrees  nineteen  minutes  E.  Rate  of  progress,  25. 

For  Fort  King,  from  three  years'  observations, 
the  mean  direction  was,  S.  four  degrees  fifty  min- 
utes W.  Rate  of  progress,  17. 

For  Tampa  Bay,  from  six  years'  observations, 
the  mean  direction  was  S.  thirty-six  degrees  five 
minutes  W.  Rate  of  progress,  11. 

For  Pensacola,  for  seven  years'  observations, 
the  mean  direction  was,  S.  twenty-three  decrees 
forty-eight  minutes  W.  Rate  of  progress,  19. 

For  Cape  Florida,  from  one  year's  observa- 
tions, the  mean  direction  was,  S.  forty-seven  de- 
grees fifty-nine  minutes  E.  Hate  of  progress,  20. 

For  Carreysford  Reef,  from  one  year's  obser- 
vations, the  mean  direction  was,  N.  eighty-two 
degrees  twenty-five  minutes  E.  Rate  of  progress, 
8fc 

For  Indian  Key,  from  one  year's  observations, 


the  mean  direction  was,  eighty-nine  degrees 
forty-four  minutes  E.  Rate  of  progress,  47. 

For  Tortugas  Island,  from  one  year's  observa- 
tions, the  mean  direction  was,  N.  sixty-five  de- 
grees twenty-nine  minutes  E.  Rate  of  progress, 
48. 

For  Key  West,  from  four  years'  observations, 
the  mean  direction  was,  N.  seventy-eight  de- 
grees six  minutes  E.  Rate  of  progress,  38. 

The  mean  direction  of  the  winds  at  Pensacola, 
is  up  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  those 
next  prevalent  are  down  and  towards  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico. 

Those  south  of  the  twenty-eighth  degree  of 
latitude,  when  reduced  to  a  mean  direction,  would 
be  a  little  north  of  east  or  N.  eighty  degrees 
eight  minutes  E.,  with  a  rate  of  progress  of  35, 
would  blow  across  the  Gulf  towards  Mexico, 
and  be  deflected  upwards,  and  would  enter  the 
valley  as  a  southerly  wind,  while  those  north  of 
twenty-eighth  degree  would  be  S.  thirty-eight 
degrees  four  minutes  E.,  would  blow  up  the 
Atlantic  coast  towards  the  Alleghany  range, 
and  as  their  rate  of  progress  would  be  but  10, 
they  would  not  surmount  the  range,  and 
would  follow  the  coast  to  the  east  of  the 
range.  These  results  show  that  our  winds  par- 
take of  the  monsoon  characteristics,  and  in  sum- 
mer blow  towards  the  land  when  it  is  heated. 
But  the  direction  of  those  above  the  twenty- 
eighth  degree  of  latitude  on  the  Peninsula  blow 
up  the  Atlantic  coast,  but  the  rest  are  carried  up 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  this  valley  is 
one  of  those  extended  plateaus,  which,  when 
heated  by  the  sun  in  summer,  would  draw  the 
winds  from  the  adjoining  seas,  to  supply  the 
void  made  by  the  rarefication  and  ascension  of 
heated  air  over  its  extended  area.  The  influence 
of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  upon  the  weather 
of  the  United  States  is  much  greater,  in  my  opin- 
ion, than  has  been  heretofore  accredited  to  it. 
The  valley  is  open  on  the  south  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  aud  is  bounded  on  the  West  by  the 
Rocky  Mountain  range,  which  has  a  direction 
from  southeast  in  the  lower  end  of  the  valley  to 
northwest,  and  extends  to  the  polar  basin  in  the 
north.  At  the  lower  and  southern  portion  it  has 
the  Alleghany  range  for  a  boundary  on  the  east, 
which  has  a  direction  from  southwest  to  north- 
east, and  its  southern  termination  is  as  far  west 
as  the  eighty-ninth  degree  of  longitude,  and  west 
of  any  meridian  that  passes  over  Florida. 

This  valley,  however,  does  not  terminate  at  the 
sources  of  the  Mississippi  river,  but  extends  still 
northward  until  it  reaches  the  polar  basin  ;  no 
ridge  of  mountains  crosses  the  valley  to  separate 
the  lower  part  from  the  polar  basin,  or  prevent 
the  winds  of  the  polar  regions  from  traversing 
its  entire  length;  nor  those  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  which  alternately  move  up  and  down 
this  valley — the  one  cold  and  dry,  and  the  other 
hot  and  loaded  with  moisture  from  the  Gulf,  the 
Caribbean  Sea,  and  from  the  equatorial  regions 
of  the  Atlantic  farther  south.  In  this  valley  are 
exhibited  some  of  the  most  interesting  and  re- 
markable meteorological  phenomena  that  arise 
on  the  face  of  the  globe,  and  which  give  char- 
acter to  the  climate  of  the  Northern,  Middle, 
and  New  England  States.  In  the  summer,  this 
extended  plateau  is  heated  by  the  rays  of  the  sun, 
the  atmosphere  being  rarefied  and"  ascends,  the 


THE   CLIMATOLOGY  OF  FLORIDA. 


11 


rain-bearing  winds  from  the  Gulf  and  below 
rash  up  the  valley,  distributing  their  rains, 
which  give  it  its  wonderful  fertility,  which 
winds  are,  however,  replaced,  or  alternated, 
by  those  cold,  disagreeable  winds,  termed  the 
northers,  which  visit  Texas,  Mexico,  and,  in  a 
modified  form,  Cuba  and  the  other  West  India 
Islands,  and  perhaps  the  lower  point  of  our  Pen- 
insula. These  northers  have  heretofore  been 
considered  deflected  trade  winds.  But  Iain  dis- 
posed to  differ  with  those  who  have  entfcriained 
this  opinion — first  because  most,  if  not  all,  of  this 
valley  is  not  in  the  trade  wind  belt,  but  north  of 
it-,  and  in  the  belt  of  westerly  winds,  which  has 
been  shown  by  Professor  Coffiin  to  encircle 
the  earth.  I  object,  in  the  second  place,  to  this 
view,  because  there  is  a  more  natural  and  simpler 
mode  of  explanation  of  the  phenomena.  I  have 
observed,  and  so  have  many  others,  who  have 
had  their  attention  drawn  to  the  matter,  that 
winds  are  disposed  to  follow  water-courses,  in 
well-defined  valleys,  in  preference  to  blowing 
across  them.  I  have  remarked  previously,  that 
such  was  the  case  in  the  valley  of  the  St.  Johns, 
which  is  by  no  means  as  well  defined  a  valley  as 
many  others. 

But  Professor  Coffin,  in  his  efforts  to  reduce 
conflicting  winds  to  their  normal  direction,  found 
it  very  difficult  to  do  so,  when  well-defined  val- 
;eys  existed,  and  this  is  the  conclusion  to  which 
lie  arrived,  after  giving  the  subject  more  study 
than  has  been  given  to  it,  probably,  by  any  other 
man*  Says  he  :  "In  any  well-defined  valleys  of 
considerable  extent,  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  that 
the  winds  are  influenced  to  take  the  direction  of 
the  valley.  An  example  is  given  of  the  Hudson 
River  Valley,  where  half  of  the  winds  or  more 
follow  the  river  up  and  down  ;  and  yet,  (says  he") 
the  mean  direction  of  the  winds  of"tlie  whole  is 
nearly  at  right  angles  to  it."  Nowr  if  we  make 
application  of  this  well-established  principle  to 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  which  certainly  is  a  well 
defined  one,  what  is  the  result  V  As  the  winds 
of  the  polar  belt  have  been  shown  to  have  a 
southerly  direction  by  Professor  Coffin,  there  is 
nothing  to  prevent  their  free  entrance  into  that 
broad  northern  mouth  of  this  valley,  and  the 
high  wall  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  wes- 
tern boundary  of  the  valley  for  its  entire  length 
would  tend  to  continue  this  direction  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  even  beyond,  for  the  mountains 
of  Mexico,  the  Sierra  Madre,  are  but  the  contin- 
uation of  the  Rocky  Mountain  range,  extending 
to  Central,  and  even  South  America,  curving  to 
the  eastward,  so  as  to  embrace  the  Caribbean 
Sea,  and  then  taking  a  southern  direction,  and 
joining  the  Andes.  This  is  the  course  taken  by 
the  polar  winds,  and  they  constitute  the  north- 
ers, which  are  cold  and  disagreeable,  and  these 
polar  winds  also  are  probably  the  main  cause  of 
those  sudden  atmospheric  disturbances  which 
are  generated  so  frequently  in  the  sea  of  the 
Antilles — those  terribly  destructive  hurricanes 
and  cyclones.  The  direction  of  the  Mississippi 
valley  is  at  right  angles  with  the  westerly  belt  of 
winds  as  defined  by  Coffin,  but  the  winds  of  this 
belt  in  their  course  from  the  Pacific  have  to  sur- 
mount the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  necessarily 
pass  high  over  the  valley,  especially  if  it  is  al- 
ready occupied  by  the  surface  currents  either 
from  the  north  or  south.  The  winds  from  the 


polar  basin  would  move  close  to  the  surface  in 
consequence  of  their  greater  density,  due  to  dry- 
ness  and  cold.  If  the  rain -bearing  winds  from 
the  south  should  meet  those  from  the  north  with 
anything  like  equal  force,  there  would  necessa- 
rily be  a  conflict  in  opposing  directions,  and  a 
mingling  of  the  winds  from  opposite  directions, 
and  some  new  direction  would  be  given  to  the 
opposing  currents.  They  could  not  return  back 
upon  themselves;  they  could  not  go  tar  west,  on 
account  of  the  barrier  opposed  by  the  Rocky 
Mountain  wall,  and  they  could  not  be  deflected 
readily  to  the  southeast,  because  they  would  be 
met  in  that  direction  by  the  Alleghauy  range  'i 
Now  what  way  or  direction  is  open  to  them '! 
They  can  go  to  the  east  or  northeast.  And  in 
this  conflict  of  winds  from  north  and  south,  the 
mass  might,  and  probably  would,  be  elevated  and 
carried  up  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, until  brought  into  the  influence  of  the  high 
westerly  belt  of  winds,  and  then  would  be  swept 
across  the.  States  north  of  the  Alleghanies,  as 
storm  winds  which  would  pass  off  the  coast  of 
New  England,  and  follow  the  Gulf  Stream, 
which  is  a  river  in  the  ocean,  or  turn  further 
north,  and  pass  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  another 
well-defined  river  valley  through  which  winds 
are  disposed  to  blow. 

The  winds  which  come  over  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains have  hitherto  been  considered  the  great 
weather  breeders  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and 
of  the  Northern  States.  It  you  examine  the 
weather  charts  which  accompany  the  monthly 
reviews  issued  by  the;  Bureau  of  the  Signal  Ser- 
vice of  the  United  States,  at  Washington,  you 
will  observe  the  track  of  storms  there  laid  down, 
marked  by  a  continuous  black  line  ;  so  far  as  the 
track  has  been  defined  from  actual  observations, 
this  line  commences  in  the  Valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi generally,  and  extends  eastward,  but  not 
unfrequently  you  will  find  a  clotted  line  from 
'over  the  top  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  is 
made  to  connect  with  black  lines  representing 
the  observed  storm  track ;  this  dotted  line  re- 
presents the  supposed  course  and  source  of  the 
storm  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  over  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  The  majority  of  the  storm  tracks 
commence  in  the  valley,  ami  take  the  directions 
indicated,  but  some  come  from  low  down  the 
valley,  and  pass  up  in  a  direction  from  south- 
west to  northeast,  along  the  western  base  of  the 
Alleghanies,  and  some  few  commence  in  the 
Gulf,  pass  diagonally  across  the  Peninsula  of 
Florida,  and  up  the  Atlantic  coast  east  of  the 
Alleghany  range.  That  the  cold  storms  which 
traverse  the  plateau  north  of  the  Allegbanies 
come  from  the  Pacific  over  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
is,  I  think,  a  mistaken  supposition,  lor  the  tem- 
perature of  the  Pacific  side  of  our  Continent  is 
much  higher  than  on  the  Atlantic  side  in  the 
same  latitude,  as  is  shown  by  the  isothermal 
lines  on  all  our  weather  Charts.  A  cubic  foot  of 
the  atmosphere  from  the  Pacific  side  might  be 
carried  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  when  on 
the  summit  it  would  be  cold,  because  its  bulk 
would  have  expanded  to  that  of  several  cubic 
feet,  and  its  heat  being  diffused  through  an  in- 
creased bulk,  it  would  be  comparatively  cold ; 
but,  after  it  had  come  over  and  again  been  sub- 
jected to  pressure  in  the  valley,  it  would  have 
lost  little  or  none  of  its  specific  heat  in  its  pas- 


THE    CLIMATOLOGY   OF   FLORIDA. 


sage  over,  and  cannot  account  for  the  cold  ex- 
perienced in  these  storms,  nor  for  the  amount  of 
vapor  condensed  to  produce  the  rain  which  ac- 
companies them.  And  if  it  is  admitted  that  the 
rain-bearing  winds  from  below  bring  the  vapor 
up  from  the  Gulf,  why  not  admit  that  the  cold 
dry  winds  from  the  northern  end  of  the  valley 
is  the  source  of  the  cold  winds  which  does  pro- 
duce the  condensation,  and  cold,  also,  which  is 
experienced  all  over  the  plateau  where  the  great 
lakes  are  situated,  and  over  New  England?  The 
explanation  here  advanced,  as  to  the  influence  of 
the  winds  of  this  great  valley  in  producing  the 
northers  which  visit  Texas,  Mexico,  and  the  isl- 
ands of  the  Antilles,  and  as  the  breeder  of  tire 
stornis'in  the  Northern  and  Middle  States,  is,  in 
my  opinion,  the  true  one  in  the  main  ;  there  may 
be,  and  no  doubt  there  are  many  minor  influen- 
ces which  I  have  not  enumerated  which  enter 
into  and  modify  the  phenomena  witnessed  in 
these  storms. 

Prof.  Espy  used  to  consider  the  winds  of  the 
Pacific,  coming  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  as 
the  cause  of  the  storms  which  swept  across  that 
northern  plateau  in  which  the  upper  lakes  are 
situated  ;  but  there  was  a  peculiarity  in  his 
weather  charts,  and  this  was  a  line  extending 
north  and  south,  of  considerable  length,  repre- 
senting the  storin  travelling  broadside  eastward, 
moving  majestically  and  slowly  along ;  but,  had 
it  corne  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  would  it  have 
presented  that  kind  of  front  ?  The  elevation  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  is  unequal ;  there  are 
high  peaks  and  comparatively  low  walls  and 
gorges  between  them.  Now  if  the  winds  were 
pressing  with  great  force,  they  would  rush 
through  the  gorges  between  the  various  peaks, 
not  in  those  broad  masses,  but  in  narrower 
streaks,  which  would  not  present  the  broad  front 
which  he  describes.  But  if  the  storms  were  pro- 
duced by  the  winds  of  the  valley  meeting  frorfl 
the  north  and  south,  and  were  elevated  until  they 
were  brought  into  the  influence  of  the  westerly 
belt  of  winds,  the  storm  would  then  present  the 
peculiar  front,  elongated  from  north  to  south, 
which  he  has  so  correctly  described. 

Now,  in  this  connection,  I  will  refer  more 
particularly  to  the  phenomena  to  which  I  have 
above  merely  alluded,  as  connected  with  the 
currents  passing  up  and  down  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  I  mean  the  violent  character  of  the  cir- 
cular or  spiral  storms  in  the  Gulf  and  Caribbean 
Sea,  called  cyclones.  The  spiral  movement  of 
the  wind  in  cyclones,  in  the  Northern  Hemis- 
phere, is  from  the  west  to  east,  by  south,  and 
from  east  to  west,  by  north.  The  cyclones  in 
the  Southern  Hemisphere  are  in  the  opposite  di- 
rection, that  is,  the  spiral  movement  of  the  wind 
is  effected  from  west  to  east,  by  north,  and  from 
east  to  west,  by  south,  and  it  has  been  explained 
as  being  the  result  of  the  meeting  of  the  conflict- 
ing currents  of  the  air,  throwing  them  into  spirals; 
and  by  some,  that  there  is  some  cause  in  opera- 
tion, peculiar  to  each  hemisphere,  which  causes 
them  to  revolve  in  opposite  directions  in  the  re- 
spective hemispheres.  Without  attempting  logo 
into  a  solution  of  the  difficulties  which  attend 
the  theories  advanced,  I  only  wish  now  to  sim- 
ply direct  your  attention  to  the  conformation  of 
the  mountainous  border  of  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  of 


Caribbean  Sea.  In  latitude  thirty  degrees,  where 
the  108th  degree  of  longitude  crosses  it,  to  be- 
low latitude  ten  decrees  N.,  where  the  seventy- 
fifth  parallel  of  longitude  crosses  that,  there  is  a 
regular  curve  in  the  mountain  range  turning 
eastward,  as  you  go  south,  (and  in  this  curve  lies 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Caribbean  Sea),  so 
as  to  give  a  spiral  direction  of  the  winds  that 
are  forced  down  the  valley  to  the  Mississippi, 
and  over  these  partially  inclosed  basins  of  water. 
Without  insisting  that  these  winds  are  the  cause 
of  the  cyclones  which  are  first  formed  over  these 
bodies  of  water,  the  direction  given  to  the  winds, 
which  are  deflected  from  their  northerly  course- 
by  the  curve  of  these  mountains,  would  be  a 
spiral  corresponding  with  those  which  the 
cyclones  of  the  Northern  Hemisphere  take, 
and  if  these  winds  do  not  create  them,  they 
are  calculated  to  give  force  and  intensity 
to  those  already  formed.  The  diameters 
of  these  circular  storms  are  at  first  compar- 
atively small  but  violent  in  force.  After  leav- 
ing the  tropics,  they  are  relieved  from  the  lat 
eral  pressure  of  the  N.  E.  trade  winds,  and  have 
a  free  path  before  them,  and  soon  come  into  the 
influence  of  the  belt  of  westerly  winds,  bending 
in  a  graceful  curve  to  the  north  and  northeast, 
enlarging  the  diameter  of  the  spirals,  and  conse- 
quently lose  their  violence  as  they  advance,  and 
usually  following  the  course  of  the  Gulf  Stream. 
Meteors  of  lesser  magnitude  than  the  cyclone 
are  often  formed  by  the  meeting  of  conflicting 
winds,  and  form  whirlwinds  on  land,  and  water- 
spouts at  sea.  Some  of  these  are  destructive  in 
their  effects,  and  sometimes  enlarge  into  local 
cyclones;  but  these  we  are  not  called  upon  to 
discuss  in  this  connection.  From  what  has  been 
shown,  it  follows  as  a  legitimate  result  of  the  oper- 
ation of  natural  influences  around  us,  that  our  po- 
sition is  a  favorable  one,  and  is  out  of  the  track  of 
the  storms  which  so  frequently  visit  our  neighbors 
of  the  North;  and  that  we  are  also  out  of  the  track, 
and  protected  from  these  terrible  terrestrial 
influences  which  so  violently  disturb  the  equili- 
brium of  the  atmosphere  south  of  us,  nearer  the 
tropics.  The  conflicting  winds  which  are  war- 
ring in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  for  the  mas- 
tery, do  not  often  overleap  the  summits  of  the 
Alieghanies  to  give  us  a  taste  of  the  quality  of 
the  storms  which  are  carried  eastward  over  the 
Northern  plateau  ;  nor  do  those  which,  in  the 
(onn  of  northers,  visiting  Texas,  etc.,  reach  us, 
but  pass  us.  by  on  the  west,  and  expend  their 
force  upon  the  coasts  and  islands  of  the  Gulf  and 
Caribbean  Sea,  and  those  cyclones  which  are  born 
in  the  sea  of  the  Antilles,  pass  around  us,  seldom 
making  us  a  visit  that  is  to  our  disadvantage,  but 
have  a  tendency  to  remove  all  noxious  admixture 
in  our  atmosphere,  if  any  such  exist,  and  substi 
tuting  an  atmosphere  that  has  been  purified  by 
the  tempest,  which  has  raged  to  the  south  and 
east  of  us,  the  direction  from  which  our  princi- 
pal winds  come,  and  toward  which  they  blow, 
while  these  kind  of  storms  pass  on  our  borders. 
When  treating  of  temperature,  I  neglected  to 
notice  a  statement  that  I  have  seen  in  print  rela- 
tive to  the  extremes  of  temperature  which  had 
occurred  in  Florida.  It  has  been  stated  that  the 
thermometer  here  had  been  minus  eight  degrees, 
or  eight  degrees  below  zero.  Nothing  of  the  kind, 
I  will  venture  to  say,  has  ever  been  recorded,  nor 


THE   CLIMATOLOGY  OF  FLORIDA. 


has  any  tradition  ever  handed  down  any  such 
event.  In  the  month  of  February,  1835,  occurred, 
probably,  the  coldest  weather  which  Florida  has 
•ever  experienced  since  it  has  been  known,  by  a 
white  man  at  least.  At  the  time  alluded  to,  the 
thermometer  was  down  to  eight  degrees  above 
zero,  and  great  damage  was  done  to  the  orange 
and  other  trees  at  that  time,  and  there  were 
standing  trees  on  the  St.  Johns  river,  and  also,  I 
think,  at  St.  Augustine,  which  were  a  hundred 
years  old  at  least,  and  they  were  killed  with  the 
rest,  and  this  is  an  evidence  that  for  a  hundred 
years  at  least,  such  a  frost  had  not  occurred.  I 
have  once  recorded  the  thermometer  sixteen  de- 
grees above  zero,  and  have  three  times  recorded 
it  as  low  as  twenty  degrees  above  zero  in  the 
last  thirty-six  years.  It  is  not  claimed  for  Flor- 
ida that  she  is'entirely  exempt  from  all  those  in- 
iliuences  which  produce  extremes  of  temperature 
north  of  us,  but  their  effect  upon  Florida,  in 
•comparison  with  other  places  north  and  west  of 
,us,  is  greatly  modified  here,  so  that  we  can  claim 
to  have  a  very  equable  climate  in  comparison. 

And  now,  gentlemen,  having  occupied  so  much 
of  your  time,  and  having,  I  believe,  discussed 
the  various  topics  which  constitute  the  factors 
of  the  climate,  I  am  admonished  of  the  propriety 
of  bringing  this  address  to  a  close,  and  will  do 
-so  by  giving  a  succinct  summary  of  what  we 
have  found  to  be  the  results  of  the  analyses  of 
the  material  which  has  been  above  elaborated. 
In  regard  to  temperature,  that  has  been  found 
excessive  in  neither  extreme  throughout  the  en- 
tire year,  but  quite  equable.  Atmospheric  dis- 
turbances, of  a  serious  character,  are  not  as  fre- 
quent here  as  either  north  or  south  of  us,  for  our 
equable  temperature  has  been  shown  to  have  an 
astronomical  cause,  which  gives  us  less  heat  in 
summer,  and  less  cold  in  winter,  than  in  North- 
ern latitudes.  And  the  regularity  of  barometri- 
cal pressure  in  its  relation  to  temperature,  shows 
that  there  is  a  remarkable  and  equable  relation 
existing  between  the  two.  The  humidity  of  the 
atmosphere  has  been  shown  to  exist  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  prevent  those  extreme  diurnal  varia- 
tions of  temperature  which  are  inimical  to  both 
comfort  and  health,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
absolute  amount  of  water  in  the  atmosphere  is 
too  small  to  render  it  objectionable  to  even  deli- 
cate lungs.  The  fall  of  rain  occurs  principally 
in  showers  during  the  summer  and  autumn, 
when  the  agricultural  interests  most  require  it. 
The  winter  is  the  dryest  season  and  the  spring 
next,  in  the  latter  part  of  which  it  is  sometimes 
quite  dry. 

The  showers  which  occur  in  summer  are  of 
short  duration,  and  come  on  with  considerable 
.regularity,  making  the  summer  more  pleasant 
and  the  air  pure  and  cool.  The  atmosphere,  as 
has  been  before  remarked,  is  comparatively 
calm,  and  what  winds  we  do  have  are  seldom  ot 
a  violent  or  destructive  character. 

We  have,  on  an  average,  about  twenty  clear 
days  in  the  month,  or  about  two  hundred  and 
forty  in  the  year.  The  excessively  cloudy 
weather  which  has  characterized  the  January  of 
this  year,  1875,  is  a  marked  exception  to  all  for- 
mer years  since  my  residence  in  Florida,  and 
has  most  probably  resulted  from  some  general 
disturbance  of  the  atmosphere,  which  has,  at 
•the  North,  produced  such  intense  cold  as  will 


probably  be  remembered  hereafter  as  one  of 
those  cold  winters  which,  at  long  intervals,  will 
visit  a  country,  but  we  should  after  all  consider 
this  character  of  weather  as  a  blessing  in  disguise, 
as  not  the  tenderest  vegetable  which  has  been 
exposed  to  all  weathers  has  been  injured  by  frost 
this  winter.  The  e'lectric  tension  of  the  atmos- 
phere has  been  considered  one  of  the  elements 
of  climate,  but  into  this  subject  1  have  made  no 
investigation,  nor  am  I  aware  that  any  special 
attention  has  been  paid  to  it.  I  will  not,  there- 
fore, make  any  pretence  of  showing  what,  if  any, 
influence  it  may  have  on  our  climate.  This  is 
one  of  those  quiescent  forces  of  the  earth  which 
are  roused  into  activity  by  the  action  of  the  sun's 
rays.  I  have  not  deemed  its  influence  sufficiently 
important  to  make  it  the  subject  of  special  study 
in  connection  with  meteorology.  I  have  kept 
a  record  of  thunder  showers,  and  from  that  I 
find  that  most  of  them  have  occurred  in  the 
spring,  summer,  and  autumnal  months,  and  very 
few  in  the  winter.  Sometimes  we  have  cloud 
lightning,  without  audible  thunder,  on  the  hori- 
zon, in  the  evening.  We  have  occasionally  had 
some  beautiful  exhibitions  of  the  Aurora  Bo- 
realis,  some  of  which  might  be  termed  gorgeous. 
Meteors  and  shooting  stars  are  not  un frequently 
observed,  and  some  other  meteoric  phenomena 
have  been  observed,  which  it  is  unnecessary  to 
allude  to  here.  As  the  admixture  of  foreign  "sub- 
stances in  the  atmosphere  is  referred  to  in  Hum- 
bolt's  definition  of  climate,  I  would  remark  that 
probaWy  there  may  be  some  admixture  of  saline 
matter  near  the  sea-shore,  as  some  vegetables  will 
not  grow  there,which  do  in  the  interior.  Carbonic 
acid  gas  probably  exists  in  a  moderate  amount. 

As  the  generation  of  ozone  is  accomplished  in 
the  laboratory  by  the  transmission  of  electricity 
through  oxygen,  its  formation  is  probably  effect- 
ed to  a  greater  or  less  extent  during  our  sum- 
mer thunder  showers;  but  I  have  no  facts  to 
demonstrate  its  existence,  or  its  effect  upon 
health.  The  subject  of  miasmata  I  have  spoken 
of  already,  and  we  have  nothing  in  Florida  to 
render  it  the  cause  of  disease  more  than  in  any 
country  north  of  us,  where  new  soil  is  turned 
up  to  the  air  and  sun.  The  heat  which  we  have 
does  not  seem  to  generate  anything  of  the  kind  \ 
here  more  than  elsewhere.  Florida  is,  happily, 
free  from  many  of  the  diseases  which  are  preva- 
lent elsewhere.  The  only  records  to  which  we 
have  hitherto  had  access,  are  those  of  the  army, 
when  troops  have  been  stationed  in  different 
portions  of  the  State,  some  of  which  might  be 
suspected  of  being  sickly;  but  these  present  the 
gratifying  result  that  Florida  is  one  of  the 
healthiest  States  in  the  Union.  I  trust  that  under 
the  auspices  of  this  association,  a  systematic 
effort  will  be  made  to  secure  reliable  information 
as  to  the  vital  statistics  o£  the  State,  and  the 
character  of  the  hygienic  "condition  of  the  resi- 
dents generally  and  locally. 

I  have  now  performed  the  duty  assigned  me. 
I  have  analyzed  the  materials  which  I  had  col- 
lected, and  which  I  believe  on  the  whole  to  be 
sufficiently  reliable  from  which  to  derive  a  fair 
result,  and  if  the  results  of  their  analysis  shall 
have  the  effect  of  imparting  a  more  correct 
knowledge  of  the  climate  of  Florida  as  it,  really 
exists,  the  labor  which  hns  been  required  to  ar- 
rive at  these  results  will  be  amply  repaid. 


14 


THE   CLIMATOLOGY  OF  FLORIDA. 


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THE  CLIMATOLOGY  OF  FLORIDA— THE  RESOURCES  OF  FLORIDA. 


15 


S.  W.  Meectis  Table,  showing  the  Sun's  Diurnal  Intensity  at  every  Ten  Degree*  of  Latitude  i7>  tic 

Northern  Hemisphere. 


LAT. 

5" 

LAT. 
10" 

LAT. 

20" 

LAT. 

30" 

LAT. 
40o 

LAT. 
50" 

LAT. 
00° 

LAT. 

70" 

LAT. 
80" 

LAT. 
90o 

77  1 

67.2 

."  S 

42.8 

30.1 

165 

5  1 

January  10 

78.1 

08  9 

58.2 

45.8 

32.7 

193 

7.2 

January  31 

7il.fi 

31,7 

(il  9 

49.7 

38.6 

25.0 

11.9 

i.4 

SI  (1 

74.  r 

60,6 

45  1 

31.9 

19.0 

6.4 

March  2 

81..6 

78.0 

71.3 

62.9 

41.1 

27.0 

14.5 

2  1 

March  17  
April  1 

82.0 

80.8 

80.2 

SI.  4 

,T,.O 
79.5 

09.6 
75.!i 

61.1 

08.9 

50.2 
60.2 

37.1 

49  9 

25.5 

:iS.O 

11.6 
25.6 

20.5 

April  Hi 

79.0 

81.7 

82  0 

79.5 

75.1 

08  6 

01.1 

51  4 

44.0 

44.0 

May  1.        . 

7li.!t 

81.5 

83.7 

83  0 

80.8 

77.1 

70.9 

84.6 

64  3 

85.8 

May  Hi      

74.7 

S0.8 

84.7 

86.7 

8-5.7 

83.3 

79.7 

76.8 

80.3 

81.5 

May  31 

73.0 

SO  1 

S5  1 

87.8 

AS.  9 

87.8 

85  7' 

86.8T 

91.0 

924 

.illlU1    1.')                .                                       

72.0 

79.1) 

S."  2 

88.4 

90.1 

89.9 

88.8 

91.7 

96.1 

97.6 

July  1  

(•2.0 

79.5 

85  0 

88.5 

90.4 

89.5 

88.4 

90.8 

95.1 

96.6 

July  l(i 

73  0 

7'9  8 

84  7 

87  5 

87  li 

si;  5 

84  1 

84  3 

88  3 

89  7 

July  31     

74.7 

S0.4 

839 

A5.1 

84.5 

81.6 

73.4 

;6.2 

!5 

76.7 

so.s 

S2  7 

S2  4 

79  8 

68.2 

60.9 

59.2 

60.1 

Au"u.-t  30  

;x.5 

80.7 

80.6 

72.1 

65.5 

57.3 

47.7 

38.8 

38.9 

September  14 

79.  S 

79.S 

;?  5 

72.8 

05  9 

588 

46.9 

34.5 

21.9 

14  7 

September  29  
October  14  . 

80.5 
80.7 

78.4 

76.4 

73.8 

U9  ;• 

67.0 
61  0 

57.8 
50  2 

47.0 
382 

36.2 

25.7 

22.5 
126 

9.0 
1.0 

October  29  

79.9 

73.5 

Ii5  0 

54  (i 

42  5 

30  1 

175 

5.2 

November  18  

78.8 

70.7 

iiO  8 

49.8 

37.1 

23.8 

11.0 

0.9 

November  28  

68  3 

57  8 

45  3 

31  8 

18  9 

6  8 

December  13  

76.9 

66.9 

55.4 

43.0 

30.3 

16.3 

4.9 

By  the  above  table,  the  amount  of  sun's  rays  which  fall  on  the  day  given  is  shown  on  the  different  degrees  of  Lati- 
tude! The  table  has  been  computed  f«r  intervals  of  fifteen  days,  and  expresses  the  results  in  vnits  of  intensity.  The 
choice  of  a  •unit  being  entirely  arbitrary,  the  intensity  of  a  day  on  the  Fquator,  at  the  time  of  the  vernal  Equinox,  is 
here  assumed  to  be  81.5,  and  other  values  are  expressed  in  that  proportion.  In  the  last  three  columns  for  the  Frigid 
Zone,  the  braces—'—  in'clude  values  for  the  days  when  the  sun  shines  through  the  whole  twenty-four  hours:  the  blank 
spaces  indicate  periods  of  constant  polar  night. 


THE  RESOURCES  OF  FLORIDA. 


LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  So  much  notice  is 
now  being  attracted  lo  Florida  as  a  home  for 
new  settlers,  that  I  consider  it  essential  to  give 
to  the  public  some  description  of  the  products 
that  can  be  grown  here  to  the  best  advantage. 
The  value  of  the  State  for  raising  tropical  pro- 
ducts is  little  known.  There  are  few  people  in 
I  lie  United  States  capable  of  advising  on  these 
subjects.  No  books  on  tropical  agriculture  can 
be  had  here,  as  there  has  never  been  any  demand 
for  them.  Before  the  war,  cotton  monopolized 
everything,  and  was  considered  the  only  crop 
worth  growing  ;  the  few  tropical  plants  brought 
here  were  cultivated  more  for  curiosity  than  use. 
Cottou-growing  was  respectable.  The  cotton 
lords  were  the  aristocracy.  A  man  that  grew 
sweet-potatoes  or  cabbages  for  sale  was  looked 
down  on  as  a  li  cracker,"  and  could  not  even  speak 
to  u  cotton-planter  without  taking  oft'  his  hat. 
But  it  is  so  all  over  the  world  ;  those  who  can 
command  many  are  the  most  respected.  You 
must,  many  of  you,  have  noticed  these  cot- 
ton lords  at  Saratoga  and  other  places  North, 
with  their  grand  display  and  retinue  of  servants. 


The  war  has  made  a  change  ;  these  large  for- 
tunes are  harder  to  make,  as  now  cash  wages 
have  to  be  paid,  and  many  planters  impoverished 
by  the  war  are  now  struggling  for  bare  exist- 
ence. It  was  the  case,  formerly,  in  the  West  In- 
dies. Sugar  was  the  great  staple.  Sugar-grow- 
ing only  was  respectable.  Sugar-planters,  my 
own  father  among  them,  owned  large  numbers 
of  slaves.  These  sugai -planters  made  periodical 
visits  to  England,  astonishing  all  by  the  grandeur 
of  their  display.  They  were'called  West  Indian 
C'omets,  they  appeared  and  Disappeared  so  sud- 
denly. Some  of  these  inert  committed  astonish- 
ing follies.  One  named  Papley  shod  his  horses 
with  silver  shoes.  Others  entertained  royalty, 
and  spent  the  income  of  years  in  one  brief  cam- 
paign. They  returned  to  their  homes  with  their 
properties  deeply  mortgaged,  which  took  years 
to  clear  off.  Freedom  !nis  altered  all  this.  Those 
that  are  now  alive  are  in  deep  distress,  encum- 
bered with  debt,  and  their  descendants  only  look 
to  their  former  splendor  with  regret. 

I  have  lived  in  the  tropics  for  twenty-seven 
years   ;is   a  practical  cultivator  of  the   soil.     I 


1G 


THE  RESOURCES  OF  FLORIDA. 


lived  in  my  younger  days  on  a  farm  in  Connec- 
ticut, and  can  more  fully  point  out  the  value  of 
this  State  for  the  cultivation  of  tropical  products 
for  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  are 
now  paying  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  an- 
nually ;  and  I  now  tell  you  candidly  that  Florida 
is  going  to  be  the  jewel  State  of  this  country,  and 
that  before  many  years  are  over  our  heads. 

Farmers  from  the  North  who  come  here  in- 
quire, "  how  many  bushels  of  corn  per  acre  can 
you  grow  V"  "  How  much  wheat  ?"  "  Canyon 
grow  clover  and  timothy  ?"  or  some  other  ques- 
tion of  the  like.  They  know  no  better.  We  do 
not  want  to  grow  wheat ;  we  can  do  without 
growing  corn.  We  have  other  things  more  valu- 
able than  clover  and  timothy.  There  is  not  a 
single  tropical  product  that  can  be  cultivated  but 
what  will  give  ten  times  the  return  that  any  of 
those  just  mentioned  will.  What  would  you 
think  of  a  planter  from  Cuba  settling  in  Virginia 
and  sending  to  Cuba  for  cane  seed  to  plant  there, 
or  setting  out  a  grove  of  oranges  and  lemons  V 
You  would  all  put  him  down  as  crazy.  That  is 
just  what  Northern  men  do  who  come  here. 
They  do  not  inquire  and  seek  out  those  things 
that  are  most  congenial  to  the  soil  and  climate. 
They  do  not  get  plants  and  seeds  from  countries 
possessing  the  same  climate,  and  which  common 
sense  dictates  as  those  most  likely  to  succeed. 
They  do  not  calculate  that  we  are  near  to  the 
tropics,  and  far  removed  from  the  cold  region, 
but  they  still  look  for  all  the  products  of  the 
latter,  and  ignore  the  former. 

CLIMATE. 

In  the  first  place  I  will  give  some  description 
of  our  climate.  Northern  people  believe  that 
this  country  is  a  hot-bed,  reeking  with  malaria  iii 
the  summer  months.  Never  was  a  more  mis 
taken  idea.  It  is  much  cooler  here  than  it  is  in 
the  North,  for  there  is  a  fine  breeze  blowing  al- 
most all  day,  and  the  nights  are  invariably  cool. 
Being  nearly  surrounded  with  water,  we  get  the 
saline  atmosphere  fresh  from  the  sea.  Take  the 
city  of  Jacksonville  as  an  example.  You  must 
remember  that  it  is  not  a  city  with  the  usual 
healthy  inhabitants  of  a  Northern  city.  Many 
of  the  people  are  invalids  obliged  to  remain  here 
or  go  North  and  die.  Now  this  city  contains 
12,000  inhabitants,  and  the  mortality  last  year 
was  eighty-six.  Can  any  other  city  in  the  United 
States  show  a  better  return  than  this  ?  Not  three- 
quarters  of  one  per  cent.  Osceola  predicted  that 
the  moss  on  the  trees  would  be  the  funeral  drap- 
ery of  the  white  man,  but  his  prediction  can  be 
shown  to  be  false.  Over  one  hundred  years  ago 
a  number  of  immigrants  were  brought  here  from 
Minorca.  Now  the  peasantry  of  that  island  are 
among  the  lowest  in  Europe.  Have  they  degen- 
erated here  ?  Nothing  of  the  kind.  They  have 
increased  in  number  and  physique,  and  the  wo- 
men are  now  as  handsome  and  the  men  as  robust 
as  any  in  the  United  States.  Take  again  the 
children  of  invalids  who  have  settled  here. 
Many  of  these  invalids  are  afflicted  with  heredi- 
tary complaints,  but  we  have  seen  as  yet  none  of 
them  being  transmitted  to  the  children,  who  are 
generally  strong  and  healthy.  Chills  and  fever 
we  have  at  certain  times,  but  can  you  point  out 
to  me  any  part  of  the  United  States  exempt  from 
\them?  In  1850  I  had  the  worst  chill  with  which 


I  was  ever  afflicted,  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
It  depends  also  on  the  constitution  of  the  person. 
Some  are  more  subject  to  it  than  others.  My 
brother  has  been  in  this  State  seven  years,  and 
never  known  a  day's  illness.  In  five  years'  resi- 
dence I  have  only  had  two  or  three  attacks, 
which  speedily  yielded  to  proper  medicine.  My 
wife,  in  a  three  years'  residence,  has  only  had  one 
slight  attack.  Chills  and  fevers  are  disagreeable 
and  weakening,  but  seldom  fatal.  They  will 
hang  about  some  people  for  months  without  any 
perceptible  effect  on  their  appearance. '  So  little 
fear  have  the  native  Floridians  of  chills,  that 
many  do  not  even  take  medicine  to  check  them. 


We  will  now  take  the  subject  of  fruit.  From 
the  last  report  on  these  we  find  that  the  value  of 
oranges,  lemons,  limes,  bananas,  and  pine-apples, 
brought  into  this  country  from  foreign  ports  to 
our  Eastern  ports.amounted  to  $7,000,000;  but  this 
is  not  the  real  value  of  the  fruit,  it  is  only  the  ml 
valorem  value  in  the  countries  they  come  from. 
In  Cuba  and  Jamaica,  oranges  sell  at  $  1  to  $1.25 
per  thousand  ;  in  Florida  they  sell  at  over  that 
per  hundred,  so  that  we  can  safely  value  the  for- 
eign fruit  consumed  here  at  $70,000,000,  and 
fruit  which  can  be  supplied  by  this  State  and  of 
a  much  better  quality.  Here  we  begin  to  get 
some  idea  of  the  value  of  Florida.  But  that,  is 
not  all ;  there  are  thousands  of  people  who 
never  see  an  orange  or  a  pine-apple,  and  who 
would  gladly  buy  them  if  they  could — not  the 
shrunken,  half-ripe  stuff,  but  the  real,  luscious 
fruit  that  we  produce.  These  foreign  fruits 
have  to  be  gathered  before  they  come  to  matur- 
ity, so  as  to  keep  on  the  long  voyage.  We  can 
put  ours  in  almost  any  of  our  Northern  markets 
in  four  days  at  the  most.  There  we  have  the  ad- 
vantage. Now,  the  whole  State  of  Florida  can 
be  included  in  the  orange  belt.  There  are  cer- 
tain localities  where  they  may  thrive  better 
than  others,  but  they  will  do  in  all  parts  with 
proper  protection.  In  a  grove  containing  100 
trees  an  average  of  1,000  oranges  to  a  tree  can  be 
safely  depended  on  ;  say  100,000,  at  even  one 
cent  each,  will  give  an  income  of  $1,000  per  an- 
num ;  and  now  keep  in  mind  that  those  100  trees 
can  be  grown  on  one  acre  of  land.  Is  there  any 
other  part  of  the  United  States  where  such  a 
thing  can  be  done  ?  What  do  we  care  for  your 
twenty  bushels  of  corn  per  acre,  of  a  value  of 
$20,  or  your  thirty  bushels  of  wheat,  uot  worth 
$30?  You  will  say,  "  Yes,  but  the  orange  tree 
takes  years  before  it  can  produce  this."  -I  have 
not  done  yet ;  I  will  soon  show  you  products 
that  can  be  grown  here  that  will  produce  in  as 
short  time  as  your  corn  and  wheat,  and  worth 
ten  times  as  much.  Let  us  get  back  to  fruit. 
Lemons  grow  here  larger  and  as  fine-flavored 
as  any  from  the  Mediterranean.  They  are  not 
so  hardy  as  the  orange,  but  Southern  Florida 
possesses  a  climate  admirably  suited  to  their 
culture ;  and  the  same  with  limes.  As  the  pro- 
duction of  these  proceed,  they  can  be  converted 
into  citric  acid,  which  meets  a  ready  sale  at  all 
times.  The  rinds  also  possess  a  volatile  oil  that 
is  very  valuable.  Of  the  sour  oranges  we  here 
do  not  yet  know  their  valuable  properties. 
Wine  has  been  made  from  them  here,  but  I  can 
inform  you  that  millions  of  these  fruit  are  taken 


THE  .RESOURCES  OF   FLORIDA. 


from  the  West  Indies  to  Scotland,  where  the 
riud  is  manufactured  iuto  Scotch  marmalade 
mid  exported  into  nuinhers  of  countries,  the 
United  States  not  excepted.  What  is  to  prevent 
our  manufacturing  them  on  the  spot  and  sending 
away  vast  quantities  of  this  delicious  condi- 
ment, and  a  valuable  adjunct  to  the  breakfast  ta- 
ble, as  also  a  most  wholesome  one?  The  man 
who  starts  the  enterprise  will  soon  make  a  fortune. 

With  regard  to  pine-apples,  they  are  now 
largely  produced  ou  the  islands  in  Southern 
Florida.  This  production  can  be  increased  to 
any  extent,  so  as  to  render  us  independent  of 
foreign  countries.  With  railroads  and  canals  ex- 
tending down  the  peninsula,  we  can  put  those 
delicious  fruits  into  the  Northern  markets  in  a 
high  slate  of  perfection.  Here  is  American  capi- 
tal being  used  on  the  foreign  island  of  Nassau 
for  the  purpose  of  canning  this  fruit,  and  yet  we 
can  grow  them  to  the  bfst  advantage  in  our  own 
country.  You  do  not  know  what  a  real  good 
pine-apple  is.  Once  taste  the  Ripley,  or  the  Su- 
gar-loaf pine,  when  perfectly  ripe,  and  you  will 
find  that  it  is  really  food  for  the  gods;  it  melts 
in  your  mouth.  \\  hen  the  Great  Southern  Kail- 
road  is  completed,  or  the  Indian  river  canal 
opened,  you  will  then  be  enabled  to  go  down  and 
judge  for  yourselves. 

With  regard  to  bananas,  a  great  advance  is 
going  on  here  in  their  production.  I  have  seen 
as  fine-looking  bananas  grown  near  Palatka, 
and  even  as  high  as  Pernandina,  as  I  ever  saw 
in  the  West  Indies  ;  but,  unfortunately,  we  have 
not  the  best  kinds  of  this  fruit;  they  will,  how- 
ever, soon  come,  and  then  Southern  Florida 
will  be  able  to  supply  the  North  with  all  that 
are  required.  Not  only  the  fruit,  but  a  valuable 
cordage  can  be  got  from  the  stalk  of  the  ba- 
nanas, rendering  us  independent  of  foreign  coun- 
tries for  our  bagging  materials. 

The  culture  of  the  Spanish  guava  is  extend- 
ing as  a  fruit.  We  cannot  depend  on  any  addi- 
tion to  our  wealth  by  sending  this  fruit  out  of 
the  State,  but  as  a  preserve  it  commands  a  high 
price,  and  a  high  protective  duty  being  in  our 
favor,  guava  jelly  and  marmalade  will  pay  to 
manufacture.  In  the  West  Indies,  the  guava 
grows  wild  and  forests  of  them  can  be  seen. 
They  are  a  different  guava  to  those  grown  here, 
and  a  more  hardy  variety.  I  have  introduced 
them,  as  they  are  superior  lo  the  Spanish  guava 
lor  preserving,  hut  not  such  a  good  edible  fruit. 

The  other  fruits  that  can  be  cultivated  in  Flor- 
ida, I  will  mention  cursorily. 

The  Avocado  pear  already  grows  in  Florida 
in  the  southern  parts.  There  are  several  varie- 
ties, the  most  valuable  kinds  not  having  been  in- 
troduced. This  is  more  a  vegetable  than  a  fruit, 
and  is  eaten  as  a  vegetable  butter.  Where  one 
variety  will  grow  others  will  also  succeed,  and  1 
hope  that  this  delicious  vegetable  will  be  better 
known  and  appreciated. 

Bread  fruit.  Fancy  to  yourselves  a  tree  as 
large  as  our  largest  live  oak,  with  from  one  to 
two  thousand  loaves  of  bread  on  it,  weighing 
from  ten  to  fifteen  pounds  each,  and  you  will 
have  some  idea  of  this  vegetable,  for  fruit  is  a 
misnomer.  Whether  the  introduction  of  this 
product  will  be  a  curse  or  blessing,  time  can  only 
show.  Where  bread  fruit  grow,  people  get  lazy; 


all  that  is  required  is  to  pick  one,  throw  it  into 
the  fire,  and,  when  cooked,  a  plenteous  meal  is 
furnished.  In  the  West  Indies  they  continue 
bearing  from  May  to  November,  and  there  is  not 
a  day  but  what  you  can  pick  dozens  of  the  fruit 
off  the  tree  fit  for  food.  They  will  not  keep 
more  than  a  few  hours  after  being  plucked,  and 
cannot  be  sent  any  distance  on  that  account.  In 
some  places  in  Jamaica  they  are  so  plentiful 
that  it  is  impossible  to  use  them  all.  The 
food  is  light  and  wholesome — something  like 
a  mealy  potato.  I  am  of  opinion  they  will 
grow  in  any  part  of  Florida,  if  a  little  pains 
is  taken  to  acclimate  them  in  the  colder  parts. 

I  will  now  take  the  cocoanu.t,  the  fruit  of 
fruits.  These  grow  well  in  Southern  Flor- 
ida, and  I  think  could  be  gradually  ex- 
tended along  the  sea-coast  up.  Every  part 
of  this  fruit  is  valuable,  as  also  the  tree. 
It  will  grow  on  the  bare  sand  where  nothing 
else  can  germinate,  and  continue  bearing  for 
nearly  one  hundred  years.  The  root  is  a  valua- 
ble ornamental  wood  ;  the  body  serves  for  fenc- 
ing ;  the  heart  is  a  valuable  esculent ;  the  leaves 
form  covering  for  houses.  From  the  tree  cun  be 
extracted  a  juice  that  can  be  made  into  sugar  or 
spirit.  The  nut  is  food  ;  the  shell  of  the  nut 
makes  lamp  black  ;  the  outer  covering  is  a  fibre 
for  ropes,  matting,  and  a  variety  of  other  uses. 
Vast  quantities  of  these  nuts  are  introduced  into^ 
the  United  States  from  the  West  Indies,  but  we* 
can  grow  all  we  require  in  this  State,  and  save 
all  that  outlay  of  money. 

Of  other  fruit,  we  can  grow  the  mango,  star 
apple,  anonas,  ackee,  Otaheite  apple,  Jack  fruit, 
Spanish  plum,  maumee,  cashew,  pawpaw,  and 
numbers  of  others  only  known  to  most  of  you  by 
name,  but  which  your  own  country  can  furnish 
and  make  you  familiar  with.  All  we  want  is  en- 
terprise to  bring  them  here. 

SUGARCANE. 

One  of  our  most  valuable  products,  and  one 
that  can  be  produced  here  to  supply  the  wants 
of  the  whole  Union,  is  the  sugar-cane.  We  have 
lands  to  any  extent  suited  to  its  culture.  I  have; 
seen  a  yield  here  of  sugar  to  the  acre  as  good  as 
1  ever  saw  in  the  West  Indies,  and  of  superior 
quality  to  that  made  there.  Not  a  mile  from 
Jacksonville  a  return  of  $500  per  acre  has  been 
got  from  sugar.  I  have  been  a  sugar  planter  in 
the  West  Indies  for  twenty-seven  years,  and 
jiever  yet  saw  the  Bourbon  or  white  cane  grow 
on  such  land  as  produces  it  here.  There  are  no 
enemies  to  destroy  it  as  there  are  in  the  West 
Indies.  The  cultivation  is  infinitely  easier,  and 
it  is  also  much  easier  to  convert  the  juice  into 
sugir.  How  much  money  do  you  think  the 
United  States  pays  Cuba  for  sugar  ?  Millions ! 
But  we  will  soon  have  to  look  to  our  own  coun- 
try for  the  supply.  Before  many  years— aye 
months — are  over  our  head*?,  you  will  not  get 
any  sugar  in  Cuba.  If  this  war  of  extermination 
goes  on,  the  sugar  estates  will  all  be  destroyed  ; 
if  the  patriots  succeed  in  getting  the  island,  and 
the  slaves  are  made  free,  there  will  be  very  little 
sugar  produced,  as  in  other  West  Indian  islands. 
It  therefore  behooves  the  people  of  these  United 
States  to  prepare  in  time,  and  encourage  the 
production  in  their  own  country,  or  they  will' 
have  to  pay  a  pretty  sum  soon  for  foreign  sugar. 


18 


THE   RESOURCES  OF  FLORIDA. 


This  sugar  question  is  one  that  I  could  dilate  on 
for  a  wholo  day,  but  I  cannot  now  take  up  too 
much  time  in  explaining  fully.  I  must,  there 
fore,  stop,  and  discourse  on  starches. 

STARCHES. 

The  United  States  export  large  quantities  of 
potato  and  corn  starches,  and  pay  the  full  value 
in  buying  arrowroot,  tapioca,  and  others  from 
foreign  countries.  There  is  not  the  least  neces- 
sity for  our  paying  one  cent ;  we  can  grow  them 
all  in  this  State  to  the  best  advantage.  Having 
been  the  largest  grower  and  manufacturer  of 
arrowroot  in  the  world,  I  feel  myself  compeient 
to  give  an  opinion  on  this  subject.  I  have  seen 
as  good  arrowroot  grown  here  as  I  ever  grew  in 
Jamaica,  that  would  give  1,000  pounds  of  starch 
to  the  acre.  Bermuda  arrowroot  retails  in  the 
stores  at  one  dollar  per  pound.  We  can  make 
equally  as  good ;  it  only  depends  on  the  wash- 
ing ;  so  that  our  1,000,  at  even  twenty-five  cents 
per  pound,  would  give  $250  to  the  acre. 

Cassava  grows  here  as  good  as  I  ever  saw  it  in 
the  West  Indies.  From  this  plant  tapioca  is 
made.  If  the  root  of  the  cassava  is  made  into 
tapioca  it  will  produce  one  ton  to  the  acre,  worth 
at  the  least  $800.  From  the  juice  of  the  cassava 
the  famous  casareep  is  made — a  sauce  that  is 
used  for  making  the  pepper-pot  of  Demerara, 
and  which  sells  at  $2  per  bottle.  I  have  sold  it 
as  high  as  $5  per  bottle. 

•  Another  valuable  starch  producer,  that  almost 
grows  wild  here,  and  appears  indigenous  to  the 
country,  is  the  tons  les  mois.  It  is  planted  here 
in  gardens  as  an  ornamental  shrub,  the  value  not 
being  known.  The  starch  from  this  plant  is 
most  wholesome,  and  made  into  puddings  and 
pies  can  be  eaten  by  the  weakest  invalid,  or 
most  dyspeptic  stomach.  I  think,  if  cultivated, 
1,000  pounds  of  starch  could  be  produced  per 
acre.  From  two  small  bulbs  the  size  of  small 
onions  I  made  two  tablespoonfuls  in  presence  of 
the  Hon.  D.  L.  Yulee  and  wife  in  Fernandina. 
I  assert  that  the  production  of  the  valuable 
starches  will  yet  be  one  of  the  most  remunerative 
businesses  in  Florida, 

MEDICINAL  ROOTS  AND   HERBS. 

I  will  now  show  you  another  branch  of  agri- 
culture, and  by  no  means  a  despicable  one.  I 
mean  our  medicinal  roots  and  herbs.  There  is 
not  a  country  in  the  world  that  could  produce 
these  to  more  advantage  than  this  State  of  Flor- 
ida. We  have  already  growing  wild  a  number 
of  plants  that  are  now  being  made  use  of,  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  there  are  other  kinds 
among  us  that  we  do  not  know  the  uses  of,  or 
the  value,  and  which  only  a  botanist  can  find 
out.  There  are  an  infinite  number  of  others 
that  can  be  grown  here  if  the  plants  are  intro- 
duced, some  of  them  of  a  valuable  nature  and 
bearing  high  prices.  This  shows  us  how  neces- 
sary it  is  that  a  National  Botanical  Garden 
should  be  established  here.  It  will  not  confer  a 
benefit  on  the  State  of  Florida  alone,  but  the 
whole  United  States  will  be  enriched  by  it.  Es- 
tablish this  garden,  put  practical  and  scientific 
men  at  the  head,  and  there  is  no  end  to  the  good 
that  will  result.  The  cost  will  be  small,  and  that 
only  for  a  limited  time,  for  an  orange  grove  can 
be  started  in  connection  which  eventually  would 
cover  all  expenses.  But  suppose  the  government 
expends  $100,000  per  annum  in  making  a  first- 


cla^s  affair,  it  would  be  the  best  investment  that 
has  ever  been  made  in  these  United  States.  In 
tlie  event  of  a  war  with  a  strong  maritime  nation 
like  England,  the  United  States,  having  a  vast 
extent  of  coast  to  protect,  could  only  stand  on 
the  defensive.  Her  fleet  is  not  strong  enough  to 
act  offensively,  or  if  even  strong  enough  she 
could  not  do  so,  for  she  has  not  a  coaling  station 
in  any  foreign  port.  At  her  own  request  coal 
having  been  made  contraband  of  war,  no  foreign 
nation  could  supply  her  fleet,  so  that  it  will  be 
an  act  of  folly  in  her  to  send  out  one.  Acting, 
then,  on  the  defensive,  she  will  be  debarred  from 
intercourse  with  nations  that  at  present  supply 
these  products;  how  necessary,  therefore,  is  it 
for  her  to  encourage  the  production  of  all  these 
articles  within  her  own  borders,  and  not  only  to 
encourage  but  stimulate  their  production.  The 
wisdom  of  a  nation  is,  therefore,  iu  forestalling 
events,  and  not  waiting  for  it  to  catch  them  un- 
prepared. 

COTTON. 

I  have  not  included  io  this  address  any  men- 
tion of  cotton-growing  in  this  State,  and  which 
is  at  present  one  of  the  chief  staples  of  the 
State.  Having  been  intimately  connected  with 
the  cotton  growing,  and  the  efforts  made  to  stim- 
ulate cotton-growing  in  other  countries  by  Great 
Britain  during  the  civil  war  here,  I  can  only  say 
that  in  my  opinion  the  cotton  planter  has  a  heavy 
competition  to  overcome  from  India  and  Egypt, 
the  former  in  short  and  the  latter  iu  long  staple. 
The  price  of  labor  is  so  low  in  those  countries 
that  we  cannot  compete  with  them  in  cheapness. 
Our  only  salvation  lies  in  \\\e-q>.iality  of  our  sta- 
ple being  superior.  The  culture  of  cotton,  how- 
ever, in  those  countries,  as  an  article  of  export  is 
comparatively  new,  and  the  quality  will  continue 
to  improve.  Even  as  it  is,  overstocking  the  mar- 
ket with  an  article  of  inferior  grade  has  a  ten- 
dency to  lower  the  price  of  the  best  kinds.  I 
have  cultivated  all  descriptions  of  cotton,  and  I 
can  inform  you  that  there  is  very  little  difference 
between  Egyptian  and  sea  island  cotton.  I  have 
shipped  and  sold  the  Egyptian  in  the  Liverpool 
market  under  the  name  of  sea  island,  and  the 
difference  was  never  discovered  there.  In  time 
of  war  the  cotton  would  also  be  shut  out  from 
foreign  market  and  be  of  no  value  to  us. 

VARIOUS  PRODUCTS. 

I  have  little  time  to  give  to  other  things  that  we 
can  cultivate  here  with  advantage,  as  dye  woods 
and  spices,  many  of  which  would  do  well.  The 
introduction  of  logwood  would  be  for  our  benefit, 
as  the  tree  has  a  tendency  to  make  the  land  on 
which  it  grows  dry,  so  that  if  planted  in  our 
marsh  lands  they  may  be  reclaimed  and  made 
valuable.  Ginger  already  grows  well  here,  and 
the  cultivation  could  be  extended  with  profit. 
Wherever  ginger  will  grow,  so  can  tnmeric,  hut 
the  demand  for  it  is  limited. 

Spanish  tobacco  promises  to  be  a  staple  pro- 
duct of  this  State.  There  is  immense  wealth  in 
it.  One  count)'  in  the  State  before  the  war  grew 
$200,000  worth.  Attention  is  now  being  drawn 
to  it  again,  and  before  long  large  quantities  will 
be  grown,  and  of  a  superior  quality. 

No  other  State *bf  the  Union  is  more  suitable 
for  the  manufacture  of  paper  than  this.  The 
materials  are  more  than  plentiful.  All  the  paper 


THE   RESOURCES  OF  FLORIDA. 


19 


manufactories  in  the  world  could  uot  exhaust 
our  stock  of  palmetto,  which  has  been  proved  to 
make  excellent  paper ;  but  in  our  marsh  grasses  I 
am  confident  we  have  a  great  source  of  wealth 
for  this  industry.  For  many  years  England  has 
been  receiving  from  Spain  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  tons  of  a  grass  called  Esparto,  for  mak- 
ing paper;  but  the  revolution  in  that  country 
has  put  a  stop  to  this  supply,  and  they  are  now 
looking  to  other  countries  for  a  fresh  opening. 
The  straw  of  tbe  wild  rice  from  the  Canadian 
lakes  is  now  attracting  their  attention  ;  but  we 
have  grasses  here  that,  I  think,  will  answer  the 
purpose,  being  free  from  silex  and  easily  pro- 
curable. Vessels  can  load  almost  on  the  spot, 
while  straw  from  the  Canadian  lakes  has  to  be 
brought  a  long  distance  before  being  transhipped 
to  England.  But  what  is  to  prevent  our  work- 
ing up  this  material  on  the  spot  and  save  all  ex- 
pense of  carriage  ?  Paper  can  be  made  here  all 
the  year  round,  for  we  have  no  cold  weather  to 
interfere  with  it. 

GRASSES. 

I  have  previously  told  you  that  we  do  not  care 
about  clover  or  timothy,  and  for  this  reason,  we 
have  natural  grasses  here  that  answer  for  fod- 
der purposes  equally  as  well.  From  our  crab 
grass  can  be  made  excellent  hay.  Mr.  Fowler, 
of  Port  Orange,  mentioned  at  the  List  meeting 
of  the  Fruit  Growers'  Association  that  he  had 
made  four  tons  of  hay  per  acre  from  this  grass. 
Mr.  C.  D.  Brigham,  who  has  established  a  sugar 
plantation  only  ten  miles  from  this  city,  feedvS 
over  a  dozen  head  of  mules  and  cattle,  and  never 
buys  a  pound  of  hay;  he  makes  his  own  from 
the  same  grass.  lu  the  Guinea  grass  that  I  have 
introduced  here  lately,  and  which  is  found  to 
thrive  admirably,  this  country  will  have  a  mine 
of  wealth.  As  soon  as  it  gets  extensively  planted, 
we  will  be  able  to  export  cattle  to  any  extent,  of 
the  finest  description  of  beef.  The  horses  and 
mult-s  in  the  West  Indies  are  fed  on  this  grass  ; 
they  work  all  the  year  round,  Sundays  excepted, 
and  never  taste  a  particle  of  grain  of  any  kind  ; 
in  fact,  they  will  not  eat  it  if  offered  to  them. 
The  grass  possesses  both  fattening  and  strength- 
ening properties.  Those  who  have  already  grown 
it  since  its  introduction,  have  cut  it  four  times  a 
year,  and  estimate  the  yield  of  hay  at  ten  to 
twelve  tons  per  acre.  Have  you  any  grass  in 
the  North  to  beat  this?  We  don't  want  your 
clover  or  timothy,  and  the  expense  of  replanting 


every  year.  Guinea  grass  is  a  perennial ;  once 
planted,  lasting  for  years  with  a  trifling  expense. 
When  it  is  more  known  and  appreciated  we 
will  show  you  cattle  worth  looking  at. 

FISHERIES. 

Another  source  of  wealth  that  we  have  are 
our  fisheries.  Every  river,  lake,  or  pond  in  the 
State  abounds  with  most  delicious  fish  in  end- 
less variety.  We  can  stock  the  Northern  mar- 
ket with  shad  in  the  winter  season.  In  summer 
we  have  the  river  swarming  with  mullet,  which 
can  be  salted  and  packed  for  exportation,  the 
heads  and  intestines  being  con  verted  into  oil  and 
manure.  We  have  quantities  of  other  fish  that 
can  also  be  made  into  manure.  Mr.  Brigham 
and  a  few  others  are  now  catching  and  using 
them  for  that  purpose. 

At  certain  seasons  any  quantities  of  shrimps 
can  be  caught,  and  there  is  a  fortune  for  some 
one  who  will  enter  into  the  business  of  potting 
them.  Our  coasts  abound  with  the  finest  kind 
of  oysters,  which  can  be  taken  out  and  canned 
almost  on  the  spot.  The  shell  can  be  burnt  into 
lime  and  used  for  enriching  our  lands. 
SAND. 

People  who  come  to  Eastern  Florida  the  first 
time  turn  up  their  nose  at  our  sand  and  laugh  at 
the  idea  of  growing  anything  on  it,  but  I  can 
inform  you  that  this  sand  is  not  like  the  sand  of 
New  England  or  Michigan.  Ours  contains  at 
least  25  per  cent,  of  lime,  and  I  have  never  seen 
land  in  any  place  that  is  so  grateful  for  the 
smallest  quantity  of  manure.  The  vegetables, 
strawberries,  &c.,  now  being  brought  into  our 
market,  and  the  specimens  of  sugar-cane,  &c.,  I 
now  place  before  you,  is  a  sample  of  what  can 
be  done  with  it.  In  Central  and  Western  Flor- 
ida, however,  there  are  as  rich  lands  as  any  one 
can  desire,  capable  of  supporting  a  vast  popula- 
tion. 

I  think  that  I  have  shown  you  conclusively 
that  this  is  the  most  valuable  State  of  the  Union, 
but  people  do  not  know  it.  There  are  few  peo- 
ple who  are  capable  of  pointing  out  in  what  this 
wealth  consists.  Before  long  they  will  all  be 
turned  to  account,  and  be  fully  developed. 
There  are  numbers  of  other  things  that  my  time 
will  not  allow  me  to  enter  upon — our  timber 
trade  for  one ;  but  this  is  well  known  to  all.  I 
have  confined  myself  to  a  description  of  those 
articles  that  are  little  known,  even  to  those  re- 
siding in  the  State. 


BERKELEY 


Books  not  "turned  on  time  a 
per  volume  after  tn|r^irc 


IIRECT  ROUTE 

Florida 


UNSURPASSED. 


r  Transfer  of  Baggage 

TS  IN  FLORIDA. 

i 

sonville,  Pensacola  &  Mobil 
mpany's  Railroad.     For  fui 

LPCKE,  Agent, 

5  William  Street,  New  York 


JOHN  B.  KING,  JR| 

iINC, 

"liCHANTSl 


IN 


NAVAL  STORES,  COTTON,  SUGAR,  SYRUP,! 


No.  187  Pearl  Street,  New  York,  and  Fernandina,  Fla. 


AGENTS  FOR  NEW  YORK  AND  FERNANDINA  STEAMSHIP  LINE. 


Makers 
Syracuse,  N.  Y. 

PAT.  JAN  21,  1908 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


